RRY  D.KITS  ON,  PH.D 


THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSrf Y 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


/  / 


HOW  TO  USE 
YOUR  MIND 

A  PSYCHOLOGY  OF  STUDY 

BEING  A  MANUAL  FOR  THE  USE  OF 
STUDENTS  AND  TEACHERS  IN  THE 
ADMINISTRATION  OF  SUPERVISED  STUDY 


BY 

HARRY  D.  KITSON,  Pn.D. 

mSTBCCTOB  IN   PSYCHOLOGY,  THE   UNIVERSITY   OF  CHICAGO 


PHILADELPHIA  AND  LONDON 
J.  B.  LIPPINCOTT  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,    ipld.   BY  ].   B.  MPP1NCOTT  COMPANY 


PRINTED  BY  J.  B.  UPPINCOTT  COMPANY 

AT  THE  WASHINGTON  SQUARE  PRESS 

PHILADELPHIA,  U.  8.   A. 


Library 

13 


K4.V 
PREFACE 

EDUCATIONAL  leaders  are  becoming 
increasingly  aware  of  the  necessity  for 
teaching  students  not  only  the  subject- 
matter  of  study  but  also  methods  of  study. 
Teachers  are  beginning  to  see  that  students 
waste  a  vast  amount  of  time  and  form 
many  harmful  habits  because  they  do  not 
know  how  to  use  their  minds.  The 
recognition  of  this  condition  is  taking  the 
form  of  the  movement  toward  "  supervised 
study,  "which  attempts  to  acquaint  the 
student  with  principles  of  economy  and 
directness  in  using  his  mind.  It  is  gener- 
ally agreed  that  there  are  certain  "  tricks" 
which  make  for  mental  efficiency,  con- 
sisting of  methods  of  apperceiving  facts, 
methods  of  review,  devices  for  arranging 
work.  Some  are  the  fruits  of  psychological 
experimentation;  others  are  derived  from 
experience.  Many  of  them  can  be  im- 
parted by  instruction,  and  it  is  for  the 

3 


970178 


4  PREFACE 

purpose  of  systematizing  these  and  making 
them  available  for  students  that  this  book 
is  prepared. 

The  evils  ofjinjnjbelligent  and  unsuper- 
vjsed_stud£  are,  evident  Jo  all  who^  have 
any  connexion  with  modern  eolucation. 
They  pervade  the  entire  educational  struct- 
ure from  kindergarten  through  college. 
In  college  they  are  especially  apparent  in 
the  case  of  freshmen,  who,  in  addition  to 
the  numerous  difficulties  incident  to  en- 
trance into  the  college  world,  suffer  pecul- 
iarly because  they  do  not  know  how  to 
attack  the  difficult  subjects  of  the  curricu- 
lum. In  recognition  of  these  conditions, 
special  attention  is  given  at  The  University 
of  Chicago  toward  supervision  of  study. 
All  freshmen  in  the  School  of  Commerce 
and  Administration  of  the  University  are 
given  a  course  in  Methods  of  Study,  in 
which  practical  discussions  and  demon- 
strations are  given  regarding  the  ways  of 
studying  the  freshman  subjects.  In  addi- 
tion to  the  group-work,  cases  presenting 


PREFACE  5 

special  features  are  given  individual 
attention,  for  it  must  be  admitted  that 
while  certain  difficulties  are  common  to 
all  students,  there  are  individual  cases  that 
present  peculiar  phases  and  these  can  be 
served  only  by  personal  consultations. 
These  personal  consultations  are  expensive 
both  in  time  and  patience,  for  it  frequently 
happens  that  the  mental  habits  of  a  student 
must  be  thoroughly  reconstructed,  and 
this  requires  much  time  and  attention,  but 
the  results  well  repay  the  effort.  A  valu- 
able accessory  to  such  individual  super- 
vision over  students  has  been  found  in  the 
use  of  psychological  tests  which  have  been 
described  by  the  author  in  a  monograph 
entitled,  "The  Scientific  Study  of  the 
College  Student."* 

But  the  college  is  not  the  most  strategic 
point  at  which  to  administer  guidance  in 
methods  of  study.  Such  training  is  even 
more  acceptably  given  in  the  high  school 
and  grades.  Here  habits  of  mental  appli- 

*  Princeton  University  Press. 


6  PREFACE 

cation  are  largely  set,  and  it  is  of  the  ut- 
most importance  that  they  be  set  right, 
for  the  sake  of  the  welfare  of  the  individuals 
and  of  the  institutions  of  higher  education 
that  receive  them  later.  Another  reason 
for  incorporating  training  in  methods  of 
study  into  secondary  and  primary  schools 
is  that  more  individuals  will  be  helped, 
inasmuch  as  the  eliminative  process  has  not 
yet  reached  its  culmination. 

In  high  schools  where  systematic  super- 
vision of  study  is  a  feature,  classes  are 
usually  conducted  in  Methods  of  Study, 
and  it  is  hoped  that  this  book  will  meet 
the  demand  for  a  text-book  for  such 
classes,  the  material  being  well  within  the 
reach  of  high  school  students.  In  high 
schools  where  instruction  in  Methods  of 
Study  is  given  as  part  of  a  course  in 
elementary  psychology,  the  book  should 
also  prove  useful,  inasmuch  as  it  gives  a 
summary  of  psychological  principles  re- 
lating to  the  cognitive  processes. 

In  the  grades  the  book  cannot  be  put 


PREFACE  7 

into  the  hands  of  the  pupils,  but  it  should 
be  mastered  by  the  teacher  and  applied  in 
her  supervising  and  teaching  activities. 
Other  books  valuable  for  teachers  who 
desire  systematically  to  supervise  study  in 
high  schools  and  grades  respectively  are 
"Psychology  of  High  School  Subjects,"  by 
Judd,  and  "Psychology  of  the  Common 
Branches,"  by  Freeman. 

There  is  another  group  of  students  who 
need  training  in  methods  of  study.  Brain 
workers  in  business  and  industry  feel 
deeply  the  need  of  greater  mental  efficiency 
and  seek  eagerly  for  means  to  attain  it. 
Their  earnestness  in  this  search  is  evi- 
denced by  the  success  of  various  systems 
for  the  training  of  memory,  will,  and  other 
mental  traits.  Further  evidence  is  found 
in  the  efforts  of  many  corporations  to  main- 
tain schools  and  classes  for  the  intellectual 
improvement  of  their  employees.  To  all 
such  the  author  offers  the  work  with  the 
hope  that  it  may  be  useful  in  directing 
them  toward  greater  mental  efficiency. 


8  PREFACE 

In  courses  in  Methods  of  Study  in 
which  the  book  is  used  as  a  class-text,  the 
instructor  should  lay  emphasis  not  upon 
memorization  of  the  facts  in  the  book,  but 
upon  the  application  of  them  in  study.  He 
should  expect  to  see  parallel  with  progress 
through  the  book,  improvement  in  the 
mental  ability  of  the  students.  Specific 
problems  may  well  be  arranged  on  the 
basis  of  the  subjects  of  the  curriculum,  and 
students  should  be  urged  to  utilize  the 
suggestions  immediately.  The  subjects 
treated  in  the  book  are  those  which  the 
author  has  found  in  his  experience  with 
college  students  to  constitute  the  most 
frequent  sources  of  difficulty,  and  under 
these  conditions,  the  sequence  of  topics 
followed  in  the  book  has  seemed  most 
favorable  for  presentation.  With  other 
groups  of  students,  however,  another  se- 
quence of  topics  may  be  found  desirable, 
and  in  such  cases  the  book  may  be  adapted. 
For  example,  in  case  the  chapter  on  brain 
action  is  found  to  presuppose  more  physio- 


PREFACE  9 

logical  knowledge  than  that  possessed  by 
the  students,  it  may  be  omitted  or  may 
be  used  merely  for  reference  when  enlight- 
enment is  desired  upon  some  of  the 
physiological  descriptions  in  later  chapters. 
Likewise,  the  chapter  dealing  with  intel- 
lectual difficulties  of  college  students  may 
be  omitted  with  non-collegiate  groups. 

The  heavy  obligation  of  the  author  to  a 
number  of  writers  will  be  apparent  to  one 
familiar  with  the  literature  of  theoretical 
and  educational  psychology.  No  attempt 
is  made  to  render  specific  acknowledg- 
ments, but  a  bibliography  appended  gives 
a  list  of  the  books  most  frequently  con- 
sulted in  the  preparation  of  the  work. 
Special  mention  might  be  made  of  the 
large  draughts  made  upon  the  two  books 
by  Professor  Stiles  which  treat  so  helpfully 
of  the  bodily  relations  of  the  student. 
These  books  contain  so  much  good  sense 
and  scientific  information  that  they  should 
receive  a  prominent  place  among  the  books 
recommended  to  students.  Thanks  are 


10  PREFACE 

due  to  Professor  Edgar  James  Swift  and 
Charles  Scribner's  Sons  for  permission  to 
use  a  figure  from  "Mind  in  the  Making"; 
and  to  J.  B.  Lippincott  Company  for  adap- 
tation of  cuts  from  Villiger's  "  Brain  and 
Spinal  Cord." 

The  author  gratefully  acknowledges 
helpful  suggestions  from  Professors  James 
R.  Angell,  Charles  H.  Judd  and  C.  Judson 
Herrick,  who  have  read  the  greater  part  of 
the  manuscript  and  have  commented  upon 
it  to  its  betterment.  The  obligation  refers, 
however,  not  only  to  the  immediate  prep- 
aration of  this  work  but  also  to  the  encour- 
agement which,  for  several  years,  the 
author  has  received  from  these  scientists, 
first  as  student,  later  as  colleague.  Much 
credit  is  due  to  Mr.  Frank  M.  Webster  and 
Mr.  Karl  D.  McMahon  for  assistance  in 
clarity  of  expression. 

THE  AUTHOR. 

September  25,  1916. 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAGE 

I.  INTELLECTUAL  PROBLEMS  OF  THE  COLLEGE 

FRESHMAN 13 

II.  NOTE-TAKING 22 

III.  BRAIN  ACTION  DURING  STUDY 39 

IV.  FORMATION  OF  STUDY-HABITS 63 

V.  FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY 71 

VI.  CONCENTRATION  OF  ATTENTION 102 

VII.  How  WE  REASON 118 

VIII.  EXPRESSION  AS  AN  AID  IN  LEARNING 138 

IX.  THE  PLATEAU  OF  DESPOND 154 

X.  MENTAL  SECOND-WIND 166 

XI.  EXAMINATIONS 183 

XII.  BODILY  CONDITIONS  FOR  EFFECTIVE  STUDY —  195 

BIBLIOGRAPHY.  .  216 


HOW  TO  USE  YOUR 
MIND 

CHAPTER  I 

INTELLECTUAL   PROBLEMS   OF   THE 
COLLEGE  FRESHMAN 

IN  entering  upon  a  college  course  you 
are  taking  a  step  that  may  completely 
revolutionize  your  life.  You  are  facing 
new  situations  vastly  different  from  any 
you  have  previously  met.  They  are  also 
of  great  variety,  such  as  finding  a  place  to 
eat  and  sleep,  regulating  your  own  finances, 
inaugurating  a  new  social  life,  forming  new 
friendships,  and  developing  in  body  and 
mind.  The  problems  connected  with  men- 
tal development  will  engage  your  chief 
attention.  You  are  now  going  to  use  your 
mind  more  actively  than  ever  before  and 
should  survey  some  of  the  intellectual 

difficulties  before  plunging  into  the  fight. 

is 


14  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

Perhaps  the  first  difficulty  you  will 
encounter  is  the  substitution  of  the  lecture 
for  the  class  recitation  to  which  you  were 
accustomed  in  high  school.  This  substi- 
tution requires  that  you  develop  a  new 
technic  of  learning,  for  the  mental  processes 
involved  in  an  oral  recitation  are  different 
from  those  used  in  listening  to  a  lecture. 
The  lecture  system  implies  that  the  lecturer 
has  a  fund  of  knowledge  about  a  certain 
field  and  has  organized  this  knowledge  in 
a  form  that  is  not  duplicated  in  the  litera- 
ture of  the  subject.  The  manner  of  pres- 
entation, then,  is  unique  and  is  the  only 
means  of  securing  the  knowledge  in  just 
that  form.  As  soon  as  the  words  have 
left  the  mouth  of  the  lecturer  they  cease 
to  be  accessible  to  you.  Such  conditions 
require  a  unique  mental  attitude  and 
unique  mental  habits.  You  will  be  obliged, 
in  the  first  place,  to  maintain  sustained 
attention  over  long  periods  of  time.  The 

•••••••MMTCBfMBMVI^Ml  . 

situation  is  not  like  that  in  reading,  in 
which  a  temporary  lapse  of  attention  may 


INTELLECTUAL  PROBLEMS          15 

be  remedied  by  turning  back  and  rereading. 
In  listening  to  a  lecture,  you  are  obliged  to 
catch  the  words  ' '  on  the  fly . ' '  Accordingly 
you  must  develop  new  habits  of  paying 
attention.  You  will  also  need  to  develop  a 
new  technic  for  memorizing,  especially  for 
memorizing  things  heard.  As  a  partial 
aid  in  this,  and  also  for  purposes  of  organ- 
izing material  received  in  lectures,  you  will 
need  to  develop  ability  to  take  notes. 
This  is  a  process  with  which  you  have 
heretofore  had  little  to  do.  It  is  a  most 
important  phase  of  college  life,  however, 
and  will  repay  earnest  study. 

Another  characteristic  of  college  study 
is  the  vast  amount  of  reading  required. 
Instead  of  using  a  single  text-book  for 
each  course,  you  may  use  several.  They 
may  cover  great  historical  periods  and 
represent  the  ideas  of  many  men.  In  view 
of  the  amount  of  reading  assigned,  you 
will  also  be  obliged  to  learn  to  read  faster. 
No  longer  will  you  have  time  to  dawdle 
sleepily  through  the  pages  of  easy  texts; 


1«  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

you  will  have  to  cover  perhaps  fifty  or  a 
hundred  pages  of  knotty  reading  every 
day.  Accordingly  you  must  learn  to 
handle  books  expeditiously  and  to  com- 
prehend quickly.  In  fact,  economy  must 
be  your  watchword  throughout.  A  German 
lesson  in  high  school  may  cover  thirty  or 
forty  lines  a  day,  requiring  an  hour's 
preparation.  A  German  assignment  hi 
college,  however,  may  cover  four  or  five 
or  a  dozen  pages,  requiring  hard  work  for 
two  or  three  hours. 

You  should  be  warned  also  that  college 
demands  not  only  a  greater  quantity  but 
also  a  higher  quality  of  work.  When  you 
were  a  high  school  student  the  world 
expected  only  a  high  school  student's 
accomplishments  of  you.  Now  you  are 
a  college  student,  however,  and  your  in- 
tellectual responsibilities  have  increased. 
The  world  regards  you  now  as  a  person 
of  considerable  scholastic  attainment  and 
expects  more  of  you  than  before.  In  aca- 
demic terms  this  means  that  in  order 


INTELLECTUAL  PROBLEMS  17 

to  attain  a  grade  of  95  in  college  you 
will  have  to  work  much  harder  than  you 
did  for  that  grade  in  high  school,  for  here 
you  have  not  only  more  difficult  subject- 
matter,  but  also  keener  competition  for 
the  first  place.  In  high  school  you  may 
have  been  the  brightest  student  in  your 
class.  In  college,  however,  you  encounter 
the  brightest  students  from  many  schools. 
If  your  merits  are  going  to  stand  out 
prominently,  therefore,  you  must  work 
much  harder.  Your  work  from  now  on 
must  be  of  better  quality. 

Not  the  least  of  the  perplexities  of  your 
life  as  a  college  student  will  arise  from  the 
fact  that  no  daily  schedule  is  arranged  for 
you.  The  only  time  definitely  assigned  for 
your  work  is  the  fifteen  hours  a  week,  more 
or  less,  spent  in  the  class-room.  The  rest 
of  your  schedule  must  be  arranged  by 
yourself.  This  is  a  real  task  and  will 
require  care  and  thought  if  your  work  is 
to  be  done  with  greatest  economy  of  time 
and  effort. 


18  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

This  brief  survey  completes  the  cata- 
logue of  problems  of  mental  development 
that  will  vex  you  most  in  adjusting  your 
methods  of  study  to  college  conditions. 
In  order  to  make  this  adjustment  you  will 
be  obliged  to  form  a  number  of  new  habits. 
Indeed,  as  you  become  more  and  more 
expert  as  a  student,  you  will  see  that  the 
whole  process  resolves  itself  into  one  of 
habit-formation,  for  while  a  college  edu- 
cation has  two  phases — the  acquisition  of 
facts  and  the  formation  of  habits — it  is 
the  latter  which  is  the  more  important. 
Many  of  the  facts  that  you  learn  will  be 
forgotten;  many  will  be  outlawed  by  time; 
but  the  habits  of  study  you  form  will  be 
permanent  possessions.  They  will  consist 
of  such  things  as  methods  of  grasping  facts, 
methods  of  reasoning  about  facts,  and  of 
concentrating  attention.  In  acquiring 
these  habits  you  must  have  some  material 
upon  which  you  may  concentrate  your 
attention,  and  it  will  be  supplied  by  the 
subjects  of  the  curriculum.  You  will  be 


INTELLECTUAL  PROBLEMS  19 

asked,  for  instance,  to  write  innumerable 
themes  in  courses  in  English  composition; 
not  for  the  purpose  of  enriching  the  world's 
literature,  nor  for  the  delectation  of  your 
English  instructor,  but  for  the  sake  of 
helping  you  to  form  habits  of  forceful 
expression.  You  will  be  asked  to  enter  the 
laboratory  and  perform  numerous  experi- 
ments, not  to  discover  hitherto  unknown 
facts,  but  to  obtain  practice  in  scientific 
procedure  and  to  learn  how  to  seek  knowl- 
edge by  yourself.  The  curriculum  and  the 
faculty  are  the  means,  but  you  yourself 
are  the  agent  in  the  educational  process. 
No  matter  how  good  the  curriculum  or 
how  renowned  the  faculty,  you  cannot  be 
educated  without  the  most  vigorous  efforts 
on  your  part.  Banish  the  thought  that 
you  are  here  to  have  knowledge  "  pumped 
into"  you.  To  acquire  an  education  you 
must  establish  and  maintain  not  a  passive 
attitude  but  an  active  attitude.  When  you 
go  to  the  gymnasium  to  build  up  a  good 
physique,  the  physical  director  does  not 


20  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

tell  you  to  hold  yourself  limp  and  passive 
while  he  pumps  your  arms  and  legs  up  and 
down.  Rather  he  urges  you  to  put  forth 
effort,  to  exert  yourself  until  you  are  tired. 
Only  by  so  doing  can  you  develop  physical 
power.  This  principle  holds  true  of  mental 
development.  Learning  is  not  a  process  of 
passive  "soaking-in."  It  is  a  matter  of 
vigorous  effort,  and  the  harder  you  work 
the  more  powerful  you  become.  In  secur- 
ing a  college  education  you  are  your  own 
master. 

In  the  development  of  physical  prowess 
you  are  well  aware  of  the  importance  of 
doing  everything  in  "good  form."  In 
such  sports  as  swimming  and  hurdling, 
speed  and  grace  depend  primarily  upon  it. 
The  same  principle  holds  true  in  the 
development  of  the  mind.  The  most 
serviceable  mind  is  that  which  accom- 
plishes results  in  the  shortest  time  and 
with  least  waste  motion.  Take  every 
precaution,  therefore,'  torid  yourself  of 
all  superfluous  and  impeding  methods. 


INTELLECTUAL  PROBLEMS  21 

Strive  for  the  development  of  good  form 
in  study.  Especially  is  this  necessary  at 
the  start.  Now  is  the  time  when  you  are 
laying  the  foundations  for  your  mental 
achievements  in  college.  Keep  a  sharp 
lookout,  then,  at  every  point,  to  see  that 
you  build  into  the  foundation  only  those 
materials  and  that  workmanship  which 
will  support  a  masterly  structure. 


CHAPTER  II 
NOTE-TAKING 

MOST  educated  people  find  occasion,  at 
some  time  or  other,  to  take  notes.  Al- 
though this  is  especially  true  of  college 
students,  they  have  little  success,  as  any 
college  instructor  will  testify.  Students,  as 
a  rule,  do  not  realize  that  there  is  any  skill 
involved  in  taking  notes.  Not  until 
examination  time  arrives  and  they  try 
vainly  to  labor  through  a  maze  of  scrib- 
bling, do  they  realize  that  there  must  be 
some  system  in  note-taking.  A  careful 
examination  of  note-taking  shows  that 
there  are  rules  or  principles,  which,  when 
followed,  have  much  to  do  with  increasing 
ability  in  study. 

One  criterion  that  should  guide  in  the 
preparation  of  notes  is  the  use  to  which 
they  will  be  put.  If  this  is  kept  in  mind, 
many  blunders  will  be  saved.  Notes  may 

22 


NOTE-TAKING  23 

be  used  in  three  ways:  as  material  for 
directing  each  day's  study,  for  cramming, 
and  for  permanent,  professional  use.  Thus 
a  note-book  may  be  a  thing  of  far-reaching 
value.  Notes  you  take  now  as  a  student 
may  be  valuable  years  hence  in  profes- 
sional life.  Recognition  of  this  will  help 
you  in  the  preparation  of  your  notes  and 
will  determine  many  times  how  they 
should  be  prepared. 

The  chief  situations  in  college  which 
require  note-taking  are  lectures,  library 
reading  and  laboratory  work.  Accordingly 
the  subject  will  be  considered  under  these 
three  heads. 

LECTURE  NOTES. — When  taking  notes 
on  a  lecture,  there  are  two  extremes  that 
present  themselves,  to  take  exceedingly 
full  notes  or  to  take  almost  no  notes.  One 
can  err  in  either  direction.  True,  on  first 
thought,  entire  stenographic  reports  of 
lectures  appear  desirable,  but  second 
thought  will  show  that  they  may  be  dis- 
pensed with,  not  only  without  loss,  but 


24  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

with  much  gain.  The  most  obvious  ob- 
jection is  that  too  much  time  would  be 
consumed  in  transcribing  short-hand  notes. 
Another  is  that  much  of  the  material  in 
a  lecture  is  undesirable  'for  permanent 
possession.  The  instructor  repeats  much 
for  the  sake  of  emphasis;  he  multiplies 
illustrations,  not  important  in  themselves, 
but  important  for  the  sake  of  stress- 
ing his  point.  You  do  not  need  these  il- 
lustrations in  written  form,  however,  for 
once  the  point  is  made  you  rarely  need  to 
depend  upon  the  illustrations  for  its  reten- 
tion. A  still  more  cogent  objection  is 
that  if  you  occupy  your  attention  with 
the  task  of  copying  the  lecture  verbatim, 
you  do  not  have  time  to  think,  but  become 
merely  an  automatic  recording  machine. 
Experienced  stenographers  say  that  they 
form  the  habit  of  recording  so  automati- 
cally that  they  fail  utterly  to  comprehend 
the  meaning  of  what  is  said.  You  as  a 
student  cannot  afford  to  have  your  atten- 
tion so  distracted  from  the  meaning  of 


NOTE-TAKING  25 

the  lecture,  therefore  reduce  your  class- 
room writing  to  a  minimum. 

Probably  the  chief  reason  why  students 
are  so  eager  to  secure  full  lecture  notes  is 
that  they  fear  to  trust  their  memory.  Such 
fears  should  be  put  at  rest,  for  your  mind 
will  retain  facts  if  you  pay  close  attention 
and  make  logical  associations  during  the 
time  of  impression.  Keep  your  mind  free, 

>then,  to  work  upon  the  subject-matter  of 
the  lecture.     Debate  mentally  with  the 
speaker.     Question   his  statements,  com-, 
paring  them  with  your  own  experience  or 
with  the  results  of  your  study.    Ask  your-; 
self   frequently,    "Is   that   true?"      The 
essential  thing  is  to  maintain  an  attitude 

•  -  ••  .  •  .  . 

of  mental  activity,  and  to  avoid  anything 

^u    ..      MI       i         xir-         j        i  • 

that  will  reduce  this  and  make  you  passive. 

Do  not  think  of  yourself  as  a  vat  into 
which  the  instructor  pumps  knowledge. 
Regard  yourself  rather  as  an  active  force, 
quick  to  perceive  and  to  comprehend 
meaning,  deliberate  in  acceptance  and 
firm  in  retention. 


28  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

After  observing  the  stress  laid,  through- 
out this  book,  upon  the  necessity  for 
logical  associations,  you  will  readily  see 
that  the  key-note  to  note-taking  is,  Let 
your  notes  represent  the  logical  progres- 
sion of  thought  in  the  lecture.  Strive  above 
all  else  to  secure  the  skeleton — the  frame- 
work upon  which  the  lecture  is  hung.  A 
lecture  is  a  logical  structure,  and  the  form 
in  which  it  is  represented  is  the  outline. 
This,  then,  is  your  chief  concern.  In  the 
case  of  some  lectures  it  is  an  easy  matter. 
The  lecturer  may  place  the  outline  in  your 
hands  beforehand,  may  present  it  on  the 
black-board,  or  may  give  it  orally.  Some 
lecturers,  too,  present  their  material  in 
such  clear-cut  divisions  that  the  outline  is 
easily  followed.  Others,  however,  are  very 
difficult  to  follow  in  this  regard. 

In  arranging  an  outline  you  will  find  it 
wise  to  adopt  some  device  by  which  the 
parts  will  stand  out  prominently,  and  the 
progression  of  thought  will  be  indicated 
with  proper  subordination  of  titles.  Adopt 


NOTE-TAKING  27 

some  system  at  the  beginning  of  your 
college  course,  and  use  it  in  all  your  notes. 
The  system  here  given  may  serve  as  a 
model,  using  first  the  Roman  numerals, 
then  capitals,  then  Arabic  numerals: 

i. 
n. 

A. 

B. 
i. 

2. 
a. 
b. 

(1) 

(2) 
(a) 

(b) 

In  concluding  this  discussion  of  lecture 
notes,  you  should  be  urged  to  make  good 
use  of  your  notes  after  they  are  taken. 
First,  glance  over  them  as  soon  as  possible 
after  the  lecture.  Inasmuch  as  they  will 
then  be  fresh  in  your  mind,  you  will  be 
able  to  recall  almost  the  entire  lecture; 
you  will  also  be  able  to  g^gEj^v]QaiagaSS 
parts  from  memory.  Some  students  make 
it  a  rule  to  reduce  all  class-notes  to  type- 
written form  soon  after  the  lecture.  This 


28  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

is  an  excellent  practice,  but  is  rather 
expensive  in  time.  In  addition  to  this 
after-class  review,  you  should  make  a 
second  review  of  your  notes  as  the  first 
step  in  the  preparation  of  the  next  day's 
lessofiT  Thiswill  connect  up  the  lessons 
with  each  other  and  will  make  the  course 
a  unified  whole  instead  of  a  series  of  dis- 
connected parts.  Too  often  a  course  exists 
in  a  student's  mind  as  a  series  of  separate 
discussions  and  he  sees  only  the  horizon  of  a 
single  day.  This  condition  might  be  repre- 
sented by  a  series  of  disconnected  links : 

ooooo 

A  summary  of  each  day's  lesson,  how- 
ever, preceding  the  preparation  for  the 
next  day,  forges  new  links  and  welds  them 
all  together  into  an  unbroken  chain: 

OOOOO300O 

A  method  that  has  been  found  helpful 
is  to  use  a  double-page  system  of  note- 


NOTE-TAKING  99 

taking,  using  the  left-hand  page  for  the 
bare  outline,  with  largest  divisions,  and 
the  right-hand  page  for  the  details.  This 
device  makes  the  note-book  readily  avail- 
able for  hasty  review  or  for  more  extended 
study. 

READING  NOTES. — The  question  of  full 
or  scanty  notes  arises  in  reading  notes  as 
in  lecture  notes.  In  general,  your  notes 
should  represent  a  summary,  in  your  own 
words,  of  the  auffiSr s  discussion,  not  a 
duplication  of  it.  Students  sometimes 
acquire  the  habit  of  reading  single  sen- 
tences at  a  time,  then  of  writing  them  down, 
thinking  that  by  making  an  exact  copy  of 
the  book,  they  are  playing  safe.  This  is  a 
pernicious  practice;  it  spoils  continuity  of 
thought  and  application.  Furthermore, 
isolated  sentences  mean  little,  and  fail 
grossly  to  represent  the  real  thought  of 
the  author.  A  better  way  is  to  read 
through  an  entire  paragraph  or  section, 
then  close  the  book  and  reproduce  in 
your  own  words  what  you  have  read. 


SO  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

Next,  take  your  summary  and  compare 
with  the  original  text  to  see  that  you  have 
really  grasped  the  point.  This  procedure 
will  be  beneficial  in  several  ways.  It  will 
encourage  continuous  concentration  of 
attention  to  an  entire  argument;  it  will 
help  you  to  preserve  relative  emphasis  of 
parts;  it  will  lead  you  to  regard  thought 
and  not  words.  (You  are  undoubtedly 
familiar  with  the  state  of  mind  wherein 
you  find  yourself  reading  merely  words  and 
not  following  the  thought.)  Lastly,  ma- 
terial studied  in  this  way  is  remembered 
longer  than  material  read  scrappily.  In 
short,  such  a  method  of  reading  makes 
not  only  for  good  memory,  but  for  good 
mental  habits  of  all  kinds.  In  all  your 
reading,  hold  to  the  conception  of  yourself 
as  a  thinker,  not  a  sponge.  Remember, 
you  do  not  need  to  accept  unqualifiedly 
everything  you  read.  A  worthy  ideal  for 
every  student  to  follow  is  expressed  in  the 
motto  carved  on  the  wall  of  the  great 
reading-room  of  the  Harper  Memorial 


NOTE-TAKING  31 

Library  at  The  University  of  Chicago: 
"Read  not  to  contradict,  nor  to  believe, 
but  to  weigh  and  consider."  Ibsen  bluntly 
states  the  same  thought: 

"Don't  read  to  swallow;  read  to  choose,  for 
'Tis  but  to  see  what  one  has  use  for." 

Ask  yourself,  when  beginning  a  printed 

discussion,    What^  jam. LJooking    for? 

What  is  the  author  going  to  talk  about? 
Often  this  will  be  indicated  in  topical 
headings.  Keep  it  in  the  background  of 
your  mind  while  reading,  and  search  for 
the  answer.  Then,  when  you  have  read 
the  necessary  portion,  close  the  book  and 
summarize,  to  see  if  the  author  furnished 
what  you  sought.  In  short,  always  read 
for  a  purpos$.  Formulate  problems  and 
seek  their  solutions.  In  this  way  will 
there  be  direction  in  your  reading  and 
your  thought. 

This  discussion  of  reading  notes  has 
turned  into  an  essay  on  "How  to  Read," 
and  you  must  be  convinced  by  this  time 
that  there  is  much  to  learn  in  this  respect, 


32  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

so  much  that  we  may  profitably  spend 
more  time  in  discussing  it. 

Every  book  you   take   up   should  be 
opened  with  some  preliminary  ceremony. 

rm    •          i  f       •y"*yf*^"i  ......  fi™iapMuy»F  •im&*-«a 

This  does  not  refer  to  the  physical  opera- 
tion of  opening  a  new  book,  but  to  the 
mental  operation.  In  general,  take  the 
following  steps: 

1.  Observe  the  title.    See  exactly  what 
field  the  book  attempts  to  cover. 

2.  Observe  the  author's  name.    If  you 
are  to  use  his  book  frequently,  discover 
his  positionjin  the  field    Remember,  you 
are  going  to  accept  him  as  authority,  and 


you  should  know  Jus  jstalllS*  You  may 
be  told  this  on  the  title-page,  or  you  may 
have  to  consult  Who's  Who,  or  the  bio- 
graphical dictionary. 

3.  Glance  over  the  preface^  Under 
some  circumstances  yoiT  should  read  it 
carefully.  If  you  are  going  to  refer  to  the 
book  very  often,  make  friends  with  the 
author;  let  him  introduce  himself  to  you; 
this  he  will  do  in  the  preface.  Observe 


NOTE-TAKING  33 

the  date  of  publication,  also,  in  order  to 
get  an  idea  as  to  the  recency  of  the 
material. 

4.  Glance  over  the  table  of  contents. 
If  you  are  very  familiar  with  the  field,  and 
the  table  of  contents  is  outlined  in  detail, 
you  might  advantageously  study  it  and 
dispense  with  reading  the  book.    On  the 
other   hand,  if  you  are  going  to  consult 
the  book  only  briefly,  you  might  find  it 
necessary  to  study  the  table  of  contents 
in  order  to  see  the  relation  of  the  part  you 
read  to  the  entire  work. 

5.  Use   the  index  intelligently;  it  may 
save  you  much  time. 

You  will  have  much  to  do  throughout 
your  college  course  with  the  making  of 
bibliographies,  that  is,  with  the  compila- 
tion of  lists  of  books  bearing  upon  special 
topics.  You  may  have  bibliographies 
given  you  in  some  of  your  courses,  or  you 
may  be  asked  to  compile  your  own .  Under 
all  circumstances,  prepare  them  with  the 
greatest  care.  Be  scrupulous  in  giving 


34  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

references.  There  is  a  standard  form  for 
referring  to  books  and  periodicals,  as 
follows: 

C.  R.  Henderson,  Industrial  Insurance  (2d 
ed.;  Chicago:  The  University  of  Chicago 
Press,  1912),  p.  321. 

S.  I.  Curtis,  "The  Place  of  Sacrifice,"  Biblical 
World,  Vol.  XXI  (1902),  p.  24&ff. 

LABORATORY  NOTES. — The  form  for 
laboratory  notes  varies  with  the  science 
and  is  usually  prescribed  by  the  instructor. 
Reports  of  experiments  are  usually  written 
up  in  the  order :  Object,  Apparatus,  Method, 
Results,  Conclusions.  When  detailed  in- 
structions are  given  by  the  instructor, 
follow  them  accurately.  Pay  special  atten- 
tion to  neatness.  Instructors  say  that  the 
greatest  fault  with  laboratory  note-books 
is  lack  of  neatness.  This  reacts  upon  the 
instructor,  causing  him  much  trouble  in 
correcting  the  note-book.  The  resulting 
annoyance  frequently  prejudices  him, 
against  his  will,  against  the  student.  It  is 
safe  to  assert  that  you  will  materially 


NOTE-TAKING  35 

increase  your  chances  of  a  good  grade  in  a 
laboratory  course  by  the  preparation  of  a 
neat  note-book. 

The  key-note  of  the  twentieth  century 
is  economy,  the  tendency  in  all  lines  being 
toward  the  elimination  of  waste.  College 
students  should  adopt  this  aim  in  the 
regulation  of  their  study  affairs,  and  there 
is  much  opportunity  for  applying  it  in 
note-taking.  So  far,  the  discussion  has 
had  to  do  with  the  content  of  the  note-book, 
but  its  form  is  equally  important.  Much 
may  be  done  by  utilization  of  mechanical 
devices  to  save  time  and  energy. 

First,  write  in  inl^  Pencil  marks  blur 
badly  and  become  illegible  in  a  few  months. 
Remember,  you  may  be  using  the  note- 
book twenty  years  hence,  therefore  make 
it  durable. 

Second,  write  plainly.  This  injunction 
ought  to  be  superfluous,  for  common  sense 
tells  us  that  writing  which  is  illegible 
cannot  be  read  even  by  the  writer,  once 
it  has  "  grown  cold." 


86  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

Third,  take  care  in  forming  sentences. 
Do  not  make  your  notes  consist  simply 
of  separate,  scrappy  jottings.  True,  it  is 
difficult,  under  stress,  to  form  complete 
sentences.  The  great  temptation  is  to  jot 
down  a  word  here  and  there  and  trust  to 
luck  or  an  indulgent  memory  to  supply 
the  context  at  some  later  time.  A  little 
experience,  however,  will  quickly  demon- 
strate the  futility  of  such  hopes;  therefore 
strive  to  form  sensible  phrases,  and  to 
make  the  parts  of  the  outline  cohere. 
Apply  the  principles  of  English  composi- 
tion to  the  preparation  of  your  note-book. 

A  fourth  question  concerns  size  and 
shape  of  the  note-book.  These  features 
depend  partly  upon  the  nature  of  the 
course  and  partly  upon  individual  taste. 
It  is  often  convenient  and  practicable  to 
keep  the  notes  for  all  courses  in  a  single 
note-book.  Men  find  it  advantageous  to 
use  a  small  note-book  of  a  size  that  can  be 
carried  in  the  coat  pocket  and  studied  at 
odd  moments. 


NOTE-TAKING  37 

A  fifth  question  of  a  mechanical  nature 
is,  Which  is  preferable,  bound  or  loose-leaf 
note-books?  Generally  the  latter  will  be 
found  more  desirable.  Leaves  are  easily 
inserted  and  the  sections  are  easily  filed 
on  completion  of  a  course. 

It  goes  without  saying  that  the  manner 
in  which  notes  are  to  be  taken  will  be 
determined  by  many  factors,  such  as  the 
nature  of  individual  courses,  the  wishes  of 
instructors,  personal  tastes  and  habits. 
Nevertheless,  there  are  certain  principles 
and  practices  which  are  adaptable  to 
nearly  all  conditions,  and  it  is  these  that 
we  have  discussed.  Remember,  note- 
taking  is  one  of  the  habits  you  are  to  form 
in  college.  See  that  the  habit  is  started 
rightly.  Adopt  a  good  plan  at  the  start 
and  adhere  to  it.  You  may  be  encouraged, 
too,  with  the  thought  that  facility  in  note- 
taking  will  come  with  practice.  Note- 
taking  is  an  art  and  as  you  practise  you 
will  develop  skill. 

We  have  noted  some  of  the  most  obvious 


38          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

and  immediate  benefits  derived  from  well- 
prepared  notes,  consisting  of  economy  of 
time,  ease  of  review,  ease  of  permanent 
retention.  There  are  other  benefits,  how- 
ever, which,  though  less  obvious,  are  of  far 
greater  importance.  These  are  the  perma- 
nent effects  upon  the  mind.  Habits  of 
correct  thinking  are  the  chief  result  of 
correct  note-taking.  As  you  develop  hi 
this  particular  ability,  you  will  find  cor- 
responding improvement  in  your  ability  to 
comprehend  and  assimilate  ideas,  to  retain 
and  reproduce  facts,  and  to  reason  with 
thoroughness  and  independence. 


CHAPTER  III 
BRAIN  ACTION  DURING  STUDY 

THOUGH  most  people  understand  more 
or  less  vaguely  that  the  brain  acts  in  some 
way  during  study,  exact  knowledge  of  the 
nature  of  this  action  is  not  general.  As 
you  will  be  greatly  assisted  in  understand- 
ing mental  processes  by  such  knowledge, 
we  shall  briefly  examine  the  brain  and  its 
connections.  It  will  be  manifestly  impos- 
sible to  inquire  into  its  nature  very 
minutely,  but  by  means  of  a  description 
you  will  be  able  to  secure  some  conception 
of  it  and  thus  will  be  able  better  to  control 
the  mental  processes  which  it  underlies. 

To  the  naked  eye  the  brain  is  a  large 
jelly-like  mass  enclosed  in  a  bony  covering, 
about  one-fourth  of  an  inch  thick,  called 
the  skull.  Inside  the  skull  it  is  protected 
by  a  thick  membrane.  At  its  base  emerges 
the  spinal  cord,  a  long  strand  of  nerve 
fibers  extending  down  the  spine.  For 

39 


40  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

most  of  its  length,  the  cord  is  about  as 
large  around  as  your  little  finger,  but  it 
tapers  at  the  lower  end.  From  it  at  right 
angles  throughout  its  length  branch  out 
thirty-one  pairs  of  fibrous  nerves  which 
radiate  to  all  parts  of  the  body.  The 
brain  and  spinal  cord,  with  all  its  ramifica- 
tions, are  known  as  the  nervous  system. 
You  see  now  that,  though  we  started  with 
the  statement  that  the  mind  is  intimately 
connected  with  the  brain,  we  must  now 
enlarge  our  statement  and  say  it  is  con- 
nected with  the  entire  nervous  system. 
It  is  therefore  to  the  nervous  system  that 
we  must  turn  our  attention. 

Although  to  the  naked  eye  the  nervous 
system  is  apparently  made  up  of  a  number 
of  different  kinds  of  material,  still  we  see, 
when  we  turn  our  microscopes  upon  it, 
that  its  parts  are  structurally  the  same. 
Reduced  to  lowest  terms,  the  nervous 
system  is  found  to  be  composed  of  minute 
units  of  structure  called  nerve-cells  or 
neurones.  Each  of  these  looks  like  a  string 


BRAIN  ACTION  DURING  STUDY      41 

frayed  out  at  both  ends,  with  a  bulge  some- 
where along  its  length.  The  nervous  sys- 
tem is  made  up  of  millions  of  these  little 
cells  packed  together  in  various  combina- 
tions and  distributed  throughout  the  body. 
Some  of  the  neurones  are  as  long  as  three 
feet;  others  measure  but  a  fraction  of  an 
inch  in  length. 

We  do  not  know  exactly  how  the  mind, 
that  part  of  us  which  feels,  reasons  and 
wills,  is  connected  with  this  mass  of  cells 
called  the  nervous  system.  We  do  know, 
however,  that  every  time  anything  occurs 
in  the  mind,  there  is  a  change  in  some  part 
of  the  nervous  system.  Applying  this 
fact  to  study,  it  is  obvious  that,  when  you 
are  performing  any  of  the  operations  of 
study,  memorizing  foreign  vocabularies, 
making  arithmetical  calculations,  reason- 
ing out  problems  in  geometry,  you  are 
making  changes  in  your  nervous  system. 
The  question  before  us,  then,  is,  What  is 
the  nature  of  these  changes? 

According  to   present  knowledge,   the 


42  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

action  of  the  nervous  system  is  best 
conceived  as  a  form  of  chemical  change 
that  spreads  among  the  nerve-cells.  We 
call  this  commotion  the  nervous  current. 
It  is  very  rapid,  moving  faster  than  one 
hundred  feet  a  second,  and  runs  along  the 
cells  in  much  the  same  way  as  a  "  spark 
runs  along  a  train  of  gunpowder."  It  is 
important  to  note  that  neurones  never  act 
singly;  they  always  act  in  groups,  the 
nervous  current  passing  from  neurone  to 
neurone.  It  is  thought  that  the  most 
important  changes  in  the  nervous  system 
do  not  occur  within  the  individual  neu- 
rones, but  at  the  points  where  they  join 
with  each  other.  This  point  of  connection 
is  called  the  synapse  and  although  we  do 
not  understand  its  exact  nature,  it  may 
well  be  pictured  as  a  valve  that  governs 
the  passage  of  the  nervous  current  from 
neurone  to  neurone.  At  time  of  birth, 
most  of  the  valves  are  closed.  Only  a  few 
are  open,  mainly  those  connected  with  the 
vegetative  processes  such  as  breathing  and 


BRAIN  ACTION  DURING  STUDY      43 

digestion.  But  as  the  individual  is  played 
upon  by  the  objects  of  the  environment, 
the  valves  open  to  the  passage  of  the 
nervous  current.  With  increased  use  they 
become  more  and  more  permeable,  and 
thus  learning  is  the  process  of  making 
easier  the  passage  of  the  nervous  current 
from  one  neurone  to  another. 

We  shall  secure  further  light  upon  the 
action  of  the  nervous  system  if  we  examine 
some  of  the  properties  belonging  to  nerve- 
cells.  The  first  one  is  impressibility. 
Nerve-cells  are  very  sensitive  to  impres- 
sions from  the  outside.  If  you  have  ever 
had  the  dentist  touch  an  exposed  nerve, 
you  know  how  extreme  this  sensitivity  is. 
Naturally  such  a  property  is  very  impor- 
tant in  education,  for  had  we  not  the 
power  to  receive  impressions  from  the 
outside  world  we  should  hot  be  able  to 
acquire  knowledge.  We  should  not  even 
be  able  to  perceive  danger  and  remove 
eurselves  from  harm.  "If  we  compare  a 
man's  body  to  a  building,  calling  the  steel 


44  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

frame-work  his  skeleton  and  the  furnace 
and  power  station  his  digestive  organs  and 
lungs,  the  nervous  system  would  include, 
with  other  things,  the  thermometers,  heat 
regulators,  electric  buttons,  door-bells, 
valve-openers, — the  parts  of  the  building, 
in  short,  which  are  specifically  designed  to 
respond  to  influences  of  the  environment." 
The  second  property  of  nerve-cells  which 
is  important  in  study  is  conductivity.  As 
soon  as  a  neurone  is  stimulated  at  one 
end,  it  communicates  its  excitement,  by 
means  of  the  nervous  current,  to  the  next 
neurone  or  to  neighboring  neurones.  Just 
as  an  electric  current  might  pass  along  one 
wire,  thence  to  another,  and  along  it  to  a 
third,  so  the  nervous  current  passes  from 
neurone  to  neurone.  As  might  be  expected, 
the  two  functions  of  impressibility  and 
conductivity  are  aided  by  such  an  arrange- 
ment of  the  nerve-cells  that  the  nervous 
current  may  pass  over  definitely  laid  path- 
ways. These  systems  of  pathways  will  be 
described  in  a  later  paragraph. 


BRAIN  ACTION  DURING  STUDY      45 

The  third  property  of  nerve-cells  which 
is  important  in  study  is  modifiability. 
That  is,  impressions  made  upon  the  nerve- 
cells  are  retained.  Most  living  tissue  is 
modifiable  to  some  extent.  The  features 
of  the  face  are  modifiable,  and  if  one 
habitually  assumes  a  peevish  expression, 
it  becomes,  after  a  time,  permanently 
fixed.  The  nervous  system,  however, 
possesses  the  power  of  modifiability  to  a 
marked  degree,  even  a  single  impression 
sufficing  to  make  striking  modification. 
This  is  very  important  in  study,  being  the 
basis  for  the  retentive  powers  of  the  mind. 

Having  examined  the  action  of  the 
nervous  system  in  its  simplicity,  we  have 
now  to  examine  the  ways  in  which  the 
parts  of  the  nervous  system  are  combined. 
We  shall  be  helped  if  we  keep  to  the  con- 
ception of  it  as  an  aggregation  of  systems 
or  groups  of  pathways.  Some  of  these  we 
shall  attempt  to  trace  out.  Beginning 
with  those  at  the  outermost  parts  of  the 
body,  we  find  them  located  in  the  sense- 


46  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

organs,  not  only  within  the  traditional 
five,  but  also  within  the  muscles,  tendons, 
joints,  and  internal  organs  of  the  body 
such  as  the  heart,  and  digestive  organs. 
In  all  these  places  we  find  ends  of  neurones 
which  converge  at  the  spinal  cord  and 
travel  to  the  brain.  They  are  called  sen- 
sory neurones  and  their  function  is  to 
carry  messages  inward  to  the  brain.  Thus, 
the  brain  represents,  in  great  part,  a 
central  receiving  station  for  impressions 
from  the  outside  world.  The  nerve-cells 
carrying  messages  from  the  various  parts 
of  the  body  terminate  in  particular  areas. 
Thus  an  area  in  the  back  part  of  the  brain 
receives  messages  from  the  eyes;  another 
area  near  the  top  of  the  brain  receives 
messages  from  the  skin.  These  areas  are 
quite  clearly  marked  out  and  may  be 
studied  in  detail  by  means  of  the  accom- 
panying diagram. 

There  is  another  large  group  of  nerve- 
cells  which,  when  traced  out,  are  found  to 
have  one  terminal  in  the  brain  and  the 


BRAIN  ACTION  DURING  STUDY      47 

other  in  the  muscles  throughout  the  body. 
The  area  in  the  brain,  where  these  neurones 
emerge,  is  near  the  top  of  the  brain  in  the 
area  marked  Motor  on  the  diagram.  From 
here  the  fibers  travel  down  through  the 
spinal  cord  and  out  to  the  muscles.  The 
nerve-cells  in  this  group  are  called  motor 


Motor  ana 

Skin  area 


Association  ana 


neurones  and  their  function  is  to  carry 
messages  from  the  brain  out  to  the  muscles, 
for  a  muscle  ordinarily  does  not  act  without 
a  nervous  current  to  set  it  off. 

So  far  we  have  seen  that  the  brain  has 
the  two  functions  of  receiving  impressions 
from  the  sense-organs  and  of  sending  out 


48  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

orders  to  the  muscles.  There  is  a  further 
mechanism  that  must  now  be  described. 
When  messages  are  received  in  the  sensory 
areas,  it  is  necessary  that  there  be  some 
means  within  the  brain  of  transmitting 
them  over  to  the  motor  area  so  that  they 
may  be  acted  upon.  Such  an  arrangement 
is  provided  by  another  group  of  nerve-cells 
in  the  brain,  having  as  their  function  the 
transmission  of  the  nervous  current  from 
one  area  to  another.  They  are  called 
association  neurones  and  transmit  the 
nervous  current  from  sensory  areas  to 
motor  areas  or  from  one  sensory  area  to 
another.  For  example,  suppose  you  see  a 
brick  falling  from  above  and  you  dodge 
quickly  back.  The  neural  action  accom- 
panying this  occurrence  consists  of  an 
impression  upon  the  nerve-cells  in  the  eye, 
the  conduction  of  the  nervous  current 
back  to  the  visual  area  of  the  brain,  the 
transmission  of  the  current  over  associa- 
tion neurones  to  the  motor  area,  then  its 
transmission  over  the  motor  neurones, 


BRAIN  ACTION  DURING  STUDY      49 

down  the  spinal  cord,  to  the  muscles  that 
enable  you  to  dodge  the  missile.  The 
association  neurones  have  the  further 
function  of  connecting  one  sensory  area 
in  the  brain  with  another.  For  example, 
when  you  see,  smell,  taste  and  touch  an 
orange,  the  corresponding  areas  in  the 
brain  act  in  conjunction  and  are  asso- 
ciated by  means  of  the  association  neurones 
connecting  them.  The  association  neu-! 
rones  play  a  large  part  in  the  securing  and 
organizing  of  knowledge.  They  are  very 
important  in  study,  for  all  learning  consists 
in  building  up  associations. 

From  the  foregoing  description  we  see 
that  the  nervous  system  consists  merely  of 
a  mechanism  for  the  reception  and  trans- 
mission of  incoming  messages  and  their 
transformation  into  outgoing  messages 
which  produce  movement.  The  brain  is 
the  center  where  such  transformations  are 
made,  being  a  sort  of  central  switchboard 
which  permits  the  sense-organs  to  come 
into  communication  with  muscles.  It  is 


50  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

also  the  instrument  by  means  of  which  the 
impressions  from  the  various  senses  can 
be  united  and  experience  can  be  unified. 
The  brain  serves  further  as  the  medium 
whereby  impressions  once  made  can  be 
retained.  That  is,  it  is  the  great  organ 
of  memory.  Hence  we  see  that  it  is  to 
this  organ  we  must  look  for  the  perform- 
ance of  the  activities  necessary  to  study. 
Everything  that  enters  it  produces  some 
modification  within  it.  Education  con- 
sists in  a  process  of  undergoing  a  selected 
group  of  experiences  of  such  a  nature  as 
to  leave  beneficial  results  in  the  brain. 
By  means  of  the  changes  made  there,  the 
individual  is  able  better  to  adjust  himself 
to  new  situations.  For  when  the  indi- 
vidual enters  the  world,  he  is  not  prepared 
to  meet  many  situations;  only  a  few  of  the 
neural  connections  are  made  and  he  is 
able  to  perform  only  a  meagre  number  of 
simple  acts,  such  as  breathing,  crying, 
digestion.  The  pathways  for  complex  acts, 
such  as  speaking  English  or  French,  or 


BRAIN  ACTION  DURING  STUDY       51 

writing,  are  not  formed  at  birth  but  must 
be  built  up  within  the  life-time  of  the  | 
individual.     It  is  the  process  of  building  j 
them  up  that  we  call  education.     This  I 
process  is  a  physical  feat  involving  the  i 
production  of  changes  in  physical  material 
in  the  brain.     Study  involves  the  over- 
coming of  resistance  in  the  nervous  system,  j, 
That  is  why  it  is  so  hard.    In  your  early  j 
school-days,  when  you  set  about  laboriously 
learning   the   multiplication    table,    your 
unwilling  protests  were  wrung  because  you 
were  being  compelled  to  force  the  nervous 
current  through  new   pathways,   and  to 
overcome  the  inertia  of  physical  matter. 
Today,  when  you  begin  a  train  of  reason- 
ing, the  task  is  difficult  because  you  are 
opening    hitherto    untravelled  pathways. 
There  is  a  comforting  thought,  however, 
which  is  derived  from  the  factor  of  modi- 
fiability,    in   that   with   each   succeeding 
repetition,  the  task  becomes  easier,  be- 
cause the  path  becomes  worn  smoothly 
and  the  nervous  current  seeks  it  of  its  own 


52  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

accord;  in  other  words,  each  act  and  each 
thought  tends  to  become  habitualized. 
f  f  *  Education  is  then  a  process  of  forming 
habits,  and  the  rest  of  the  book  will  be 
devoted  to  the  description  and  discussion 
of  habits  which  a  student  should  form. 


CHAPTER  IV 
FORMATION  OF  STUDY-HABITS 

As  already  intimated,  this  book  adopts 
the  view  that  education  is  a  process  of 
forming  habits  in  the  brain.  In  the  forma- 
tion of  habits  there  are  several  principles 
that  must  be  observed.  Accordingly  we 
shall  devote  a  chapter  to  the  consideration 
of  habits  in  general  before  discussing  the 
specific  habits  involved  in  various  kinds  of 
study. 

Habit  may  be  defined  roughly  as  the 
tendency  to  act  time  after  time  in  the 
same  way.  Thus  defined,  you  see  that 
the  force  of  habit  extends  throughout  the 
entire  universe.  It  is  a  habit  for  the  earth 
to  revolve  on  its  axis  once  every  twenty- 
four  hours  and  to  encircle  the  sun  once 
every  year.  When  a  pencil  falls  from 
your  hand  it  has  a  habit  of  dropping  to 
the  floor.  A  piece  of  paper  once  folded 
tends  to  crease  in  the  same  place.  These 

53 


54  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

are  examples  of  the  force  of  habit  in  non- 
living matter.  Living  matter  shows  its 
power  even  more  clearly.  If  you  assume  a 
petulant  expression  for  some  time,  it  gets 
fixed  and  the  expression  becomes  habitual. 
The  hair  may  be  trained  to  lie  this  way  or 
that.  These  are  examples  of  habit  in 
living  tissue.  But  there  is  one  particular 
form  of  living  tissue  which  is  most  sus- 
ceptible to  habit ;  that  is  nerve  tissue.  Let  us 
review  briefly  the  facts  which  underlie  this 
characteristic.  In  nerve  tissue,  impressi- 
bility, conductivity  and  modifiability  are 
developed  to  a  marked  degree.  The  nerve- 
cells  in  the  sense  organs  are  impressed  by 
stimulations  from  the  outside  world.  The 
nervous  current  thus  generated  is  con- 
ducted over  long  nerve  fibers,  through  the 
spinal  cord  to  the  brain  where  it  is  received 
and  we  experience  a  sensation.  Thence  it 
pushes  on,  over  association  neurones  in 
the  brain  to  motor  neurones,  over  which  it 
passes  down  the  spinal  cord  again  to 
muscles,  and  ends  in  some  movement.  In 


FORMATION  OF  STUDY-HABITS        55 

the  pathway  which  it  traverses  it  leaves 
its  impression,  and,  thereafter,  when  the 
first  neurone  is  excited,  the  nervous  current 
tends  to  take  the  same  pathway  and  to 
end  in  the  same  movement. 

It  should  be  emphasized  that  the  nervous 
current,  once  started,  always  tends  to  seek 
outlet  in  movement.  This  is  an  extremely 
important  feature  of  neural  action,  and, 
as  will  be  shown  in  another  chapter,  is  a 
vital  factor  in  study.  Movement  may  be 
started  by  the  stimulation  of  a  sense  organ 
or  by  an  idea.  In  the  latter  case  it  starts 
from  regions  in  the  brain  without  the 
immediately  preceding  stimulation  of  a 
sense  organ.  Howsoever  it  starts  you 
may  be  sure  that  it  seeks  a  way  out,  and 
prefers  pathways  already  traversed. 
Hence  you  see  you  are  bound  to  have 
habits.  They  will  develop  whether  you 
wish  them  or  not.  Already  you  are  "a 
bundle  of  habits";  they  manifest  them- 
selves in  two  ways — as  habits  of  action 
and  habits  of  thought.  You  illustrate  the 


56  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

first  every  time  you  tie  your  shoes  or  sign 
your  name.  To  illustrate  the  second,  I 
need  only  ask  you  to  supply  the  end  of 
this  sentence:  Columbus  discovered 

America  in  .     Speech  reveals  many 

of  these  habits  of  thought.  Certain  phrases 
persist  in  the  mind  as  habits  so  that  when 
the  phrase  is  once  begun,  you  proceed 
habitually  with  the  rest  of  it.  When  some 
one  starts  "in  spite,"  your  mind  goes  on 
to  think  "of";  "more  or"  calls  up  "less." 
When  I  ask  you  what  word  is  called  up  by 
"black,"  you  reply  "white"  according  to 
the  principles  of  mental  habit.  Your  mind 
is  arranged  in  such  habitual  patterns,  and 
from  these  examples  you  readily  see  that  a 
large  part  of  what  you  do  and  think  during 
the  course  of  twenty-four  hours  is  habitual. 
Twenty  years  hence  you  will  be  even  more 
bound  by  this  overpowering  despot. 
Our  acts  our  angels  are,  or  good,  or  ill, 
Our  constant  shadows  that  walk  with  us  still. 

Since  you  cannot  avoid  forming  habits, 
how  important  it  is  that  you  seek  to  form 


FORMATION  OF  STUDY-HABITS       57 

those  that  are  useful  and  desirable.  In 
acquiring  them,  there  are  several  general 
principles  deducible  from  the  facts  of 
nervous  action.  The  first  is,  guard  the 
pathways  leading  to  the  brain.  Nerve 
tissue  is  impressible  and  everything  that 
touches  it  leaves  an  ineradicable  trace. 
You  can  control  your  habits  to  some 
extent,  then,  by  observing  caution  in  per- 
mitting things  to  impress  you.  Many 
unfortunate  habits  of  study  arise  from 
neglect  of  this.  The  habit  of  using  a 
"pony,"  for  example,  arises  when  one 
permits  oneself  to  depend  upon  a  group 
of  English  words  before  translating  a 
foreign  language. 

Nerve  pathways  should  then  bejuarded 
with  respect  to  what  enters.    They  should 

also  be  guarded  with  respect  to  the  way 

*  ,  .-...*' 

things   enter.     R,emember,    as   the   first 

O  7 

pathway  is  cut,  subsequent  nervous  cur- 
rents will  be  directed.  Consequently  if 
you  make  a  wrong  pathway,  you  will  have 
trouble  undoing  it. 


•I 


58  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

Another  maxim  which  will  obviously 
prevent  undesirable  pathways  is^o  slowly 
at  first.  This  is  an  important  principle  in 
learning.  If,  when  trying  to  learn  the 
date  1453,  you  carelessly  impress  it  first 
as  1435,  you  are  likely  to  have  trouble 
ever  after  in  remembering  which  is  right, 
1453  or  1435.  As  you  value  your  intel- 
lectual salvation,  then,  go  slowly  in  making 
the  first  impression  and  be  sure  it  is  right. 
The  next  rule  is  to  ^uard  the_  exits  erf 
jJie  nervous  currents.  That  is,  watch  the 
movements  you  make  in  response  to 
impressions  and  ideas.  This  is  necessary 
because  the  nervous  current  pushes  on 
past  obstructions,  through  areas  in  the 
brain,  until  it  ends  in  some  form  of  move- 
ment, and  in  finding  the  way  out,  it  seeks 
those  pathways  that  have  been  most 
frequently  travelled.  In  study,  it  usually 
takes  the  form  of  movements  of  speech  or 
writing.  You  will  need  to  guard  this  part 
of  the  process  just  as  you  did  the  incoming 
pathway.  You  must  see  that  the  move- 


FORMATION  OF  STUDY  HABITS       59 

ment  is  made  which  you  wish  to  build 
into  a  habit.  In  learning  the  pronuncia- 
tion of  a  foreign  word,  for  example,  see 

-i  f     -  -"••"   '  '        •  f    • 

that    your    first    pronunciation    of    it    is 

absolutely  right.  When  learning  to  type- 
write see  that  you  always  hit  the  right  key 
during  the  early  trials.  The  point  of  exit 
of  a  nervous  current  is  the  point  also  where 
precautions  are  to  be  taken  in  developing 
good  form.  The  path  should  be  the 
shortest  possible,  involving  only  those 
muscles  that  are  absolutely  necessary. 
This  makes  for  economy  of  effort. 

The  third  general  principle  to  be  kept  in 
mind  is  that  habits  are  most  easily  formed 
in  youth,  for  this  is  the  period  when  nerve 
tissue  is  most  easily  impressed  and  modi- 
fied. With  respect  to  habit  formation, 
then,  you  see  that  youth  is  the  time  when 
emphasis  should  be  laid  upon  the  forma- 
tion of  as  many  useful  habits  as  possible. 
The  world  recognizes  this  to  some  extent 
and  society  is  so  organized  that  the  youth 
of  the  race  are  given  leisure  and  protection 


60  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

so  that  they  may  form  useful  habits.  The 
world  asks  nothing  of  you  during  the  next 
four  years  except  that  you  develop  your- 
self and  form  useful  habits  which  will 
enable  you  in  later  life  to  take  your  place 
as  a  useful  and  stable  member  of  society. 

In  addition  to  the  principles  just  dis- 
cussed, there  are  a  number  of  other  maxims 
which  have  been  laid  down  as  guides  in 
the  formation  of  new  habits.  The  first  is, 
make  an  assertion  of  mil.  Vow  to  yourself 
that  you  will  form  the  habit,  and  keep  that 
resolve  ever  before  you. 

The  second  maxim  is,  make  an  emphatic 
start.  Surround  yourself  with  every  aid 
possible.  Make  it  easy  at  first  to  perform 
the  act  and  difficult  not  to  perform  it. 
For  example,  if  you  desire  to  form  the 
habit  of  arising  at  six  every  morning, 
surround  yourself  with  a  number  of  aids. 
Buy  an  alarm  clock,  and  tell  some  one  of 
your  decision.  Such  efforts  at  the  start 
"will  give  your  new  beginning  such  a 
momentum  that  the  temptation  to  break 


FORMATION  OF  STUDY- HABITS       61 

down  will  not  occur  as  soon  as  it  otherwise 
might;  and  every  day  during  which  a 
breakdown  is  postponed  adds  to  the 
chances  of  its  not  occurring  at  all."  Man 
has  discovered  the  value  of  such  devices 
during  the  course  of  his  long  history,  and 
has  evolved  customs  accordingly.  When 
men  decide  to  swear  off  smoking,  they 
choose  the  opening  of  a  new  year  when 
many  other  new  things  are  being  started; 
they  make  solemn  promises  to  themselves, 
to  each  other,  and  finally  to  their  friends. 
Such  customs  are  precautions  which  help 
to  bolster  up  the  determination  at  the 
time  when  extraordinary  effort  and  deter- 
mination are  required.  In  forming  the 
habits  incidental  to  college  life,  take  pains 
from  the  start  to  surround  yourself  with  as 
many  aids  as  possible.  This  will  not  con- 
stitute a  confession  of  weakness.  It  is  only 
a  wise  and  natural  precaution  which  the 
whole  experience  of  the  race  has  justified. 
The  third  maxim  is,  never  permit  an 
exception  to  occur.  Suppose  you  have  a 


62  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

habit  of  saying  "aint"  which  you  wish  to 
replace  with  a  habit  of  saying  "isn't."  If 
the  habit  is  deeply  rooted,  you  have  worn 
a  pathway  in  the  brain  to  a  considerable 
depth,  represented  in  the  accompanying 
diagram  by  the  line  AX B.  Let  us  sup- 
pose that  you  have  already  started  the 
new  habit,  and  have  said  the  correct  word 
A 


A 


B 

ten  times.  That  means  you  have  worn 
another  pathway  A  X  C  to  a  considerable 
depth.  During  all  this  time,  however,  the 
old  pathway  is  still  open  and  at  the  slight- 
est provocation  will  attract  the  nervous 
current.  Your  task  is  to  deepen  the  new 
path  so  that  the  nervous  current  will  flow 
into  it  instead  of  the  old.  Now  suppose 
you  make  an  exception  on  some  occasion 


FORMATION  OF  STUDY- HABITS        63 

and  allow  the  nervous  current  to  travel 
over  the  old  path.  This  unfortunate  ex- 
ception breaks  down  the  bridge  which  you 
had  constructed  at  X  from  A  to  C.  But 
this  is  not  the  only  result.  The  nervous 
current,  as  it  revisits'the  old  path,  deepens 
it  more  than  it  was  before,  so  the  next 
time  a  similar  situation  arises,  the  current 
seeks  the  old  path  with  much  greater 
readiness  than  before,  and  vastly  more 
effort  is  required  to  overcome  it.  Some  one 
has  likened  the  effect  of  these  exceptions 
to  that  produced  when  one  drops  a  ball  of 
string  that  is  partially  wound.  By  a 
single  slip,  more  is  undone  than  can  be 
accomplished  in  a  dozen  windings. 

The  fourth  maxim  is,  seize  every  oppor- 
tunity to  act  upon  your  resolution.  The 
reason  for  this  will  be  understood  better  if 
you  keep  in  mind  the  fact,  stated  before, 
that  nervous  currents  once  started,  whether 
from  a  sense-organ  or  from  a  brain-center, 
always  tend  to  seek  egress  in  movement. 
These  outgoing  nervous  currents  leave  an 


64  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

imprint  upon  the  modifiable  nerve  tissues 
as  inevitably  as  do  incoming  impressions. 
Therefore,  if  you  wish  your  resolves  to  be 
firmly  fixed,  you  should  act  upon  them 
speedily  and  often.  ' '  It  is  not  in  the  moment 
of  their  forming,  but  in  the  moment  of 
their  producing  motor  effects,  that  resolves 
and  aspirations  communicate  the  new  '  set ' 
to  the  brain."  "No  matter  how  full  a 
reservoir  of  maxims  one  may  possess,  and 
no  matter  how  good  one's  sentiments  may 
be,  if  one  has  not  taken  advantage  of 
every  concrete  opportunity  to  act,  one's 
character  may  remain  entirely  unaffected 
for  the  better."  Particularly  at  time  of 
emotional  excitement  one  makes  resolves 
that  are  very  good,  and  a  glow  of  fine 
feeling  is  present.  Beware  that  these 
resolves  do  not  evaporate  in  mere  feeling. 
They  should  be  crystallized  in  some  form 
of  action  as  soon  as  possible.  "Let  the 
expression  be  the  least  thing  in  the  world — 
speaking  genially  to  one's  grandmother, 
or  giving  up  one's  seat  in  a  ...  car,  if 


FORMATION  OF  STUDY-HABITS        65 

nothing  more  heroic  offers — but  let  it  not 
fail  to  take  place."  Strictly  speaking  you 
have  not  really  completed  a  resolve  until 
you  have  acted  upon  it.  You  may  deter- 
mine to  go  without  lunch,  but  you  have  not 
consummated  that  resolve  until  you  have 
permitted  it  to  express  itself  by  carrying 
you  past  the  door  of  the  dining-room. 
That  is  the  crucial  test  which  determines 
the  strength  of  your  resolve.  Many 
repetitions  will  be  required  before  a  path- 
way is  worn  deep  enough  to  be  settled. 
Seize  the  very  earliest  opportunity  to 
begin  grooving  it  out,  and  seize  every 
other  opportunity  for  deepening  it. 

After  this  view  of  the  place  in  your  life 
occupied  by  habit,  you  readily  see  its  far- 
reaching  possibilities  for  welfare  of  body 
and  mind.  Its  most  obvious,  because 
most  annoying,  effects  are  on  the  side  of 
its  disadvantages.  Bad  habits  secure  a 
grip  upon  us  that  we  are  sometimes 
powerless  to  shake  off.  True,  this  ineradi- 
cableness  need  have  no  terrors  if  we  have 

4 


66  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

formed  good  habits.  Indeed,  as  will  be 
pointed  out  in  the  next  paragraph,  habit 
may  be  a  great  asset.  Nevertheless,  it  may 
work  positive  harm,  or  at  best,  may  lead 
to  stagnation.  The  fixedness  of  habit  tends 
to  make  us  move  in  ruts  unless  we  exert 
continuous  effort  to  learn  new  things.  If  we 
permit  ourselves  to  move  in  old  grooves  we 
cease  to  progress  and  become  "old  fogy." 

But  the  advantages  of  habit  far  out- 

^^MV 

weigh  its  disadvantages.  Habit  helps  the 
individual  to  be  consistent  and  helps  people 
to  know  what  to  expect  from  one.  It 
helps  society  to  be  stable,  to  incorporate 
within  itself  modes  of  action  conducive  to 
the  common  good.  For  example,  the 
respect  which  we  all  have  for  the  property 
of  others  is  a  habit,  and  is  so  firmly 
intrenched  that  we  should  find  ourselves 
unable  to  steal  if  we  wished  to.  Habit  is 
thus  a  very  desirable  asset  and  is  truly 
called  the  "enormous  fly-wheel  of  society." 
A  second  advantage  of  habit  is  that  it 
makes  for  accuracy.  Acts  that  have 


FORMATION  OF  STUDY-HABITS       67 

become  habitualized  are  performed  more 
accurately  than  those  not  habitualized. 
Movements  such  as  those  made  in  type- 
writing and  piano-playing,  when  measured 
in  the  psychological  laboratory,  are  found 
to  copy  each  other  with  extreme  fidelity. 
The  human  body  is  a  machine  which  may 
be  adjusted  to  a  high  degree  of  nicety, 
and  habit  is  the  mechanism  by  which  this 
adjustment  is  made. 

A  third  advantage  is  that  a  stock  of 
habits  makes  life  easier.  "  There  is  no 
more  miserable  human  being  than  one  in 
whom  nothing  is  habitual  but  indecision, 
for  whom  the  lighting  of  every  cigar,  the 
drinking  of  every  cup,  the  time  of  rising 
and  going  to  bed  every  day  and  the  begin- 
ning of  every  bit  of  work,  are  subjects  of 
express  volitional  deliberation.  Full  half 
the  time  of  such  a  man  goes  to  the  deciding 
or  regretting  of  matters  which  ought  to 
be  so  ingrained  in  him  as  practically  not 
to  exist  for  his  consciousness  at  all."  Have 
you  ever  reflected  how  miserable  you 


«8  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

would  be  and  what  a  task  living  would  be 
if  you  had  to  learn  to  write  anew  every 
morning  when  you  go  to  class;  or  if  you 
had  to  relearn  how  to  tie  your  necktie 
every  day?  The  burden  of  living  would 
be  intolerable. 

The  last  advantage  to  be  discerned  in 
habit  is  economy.  Habitual  acts  do  not 
have  to  be  actively  directed  by  conscious- 
ness. While  they  are  being  performed, 
consciousness  may  be  otherwise  engaged. 
"The  more  of  the  details  of  our  daily  life 
we  can  hand  over  to  the  effortless  custody 
of  automatism,  the  more  our  higher  powers 
of  mind  will  be  set  free  for  their  own 
proper  work."  While  you  are  brushing 
your  hair  or  tying  your  shoes,  your  mind 
may  be  engaged  in  memorizing  poetry  or 
calculating  arithmetical  problems.  Habit 
is  thus  a  great  economizer. 

The  ethical  consequences  of  habit  are 
so  striking  that  before  leaving  the  subject 
we  must  give  them  acknowledgment.  We 
can  do  no  better  than  to  turn  to  the  state- 


FORMATION  OF  STUDY-HABITS      69 

ment  by  Professor  James,  whose  wise 
remarks  upon  the  subject  have  not  been 
improved  upon: 

"The  physiological  study  of  mental  condi- 
tions is  thus  the  most  powerful  ally  of  horta- 
tory ethics.  The  hell  to  be  endured  hereafter, 
of  which  theology  tells,  is  no  worse  than  the 
hell  we  make  for  ourselves  in  this  world  by 
habitually  fashioning  our  characters  in  the 
wrong  way.  Could  the  young  but  realize  how 
soon  they  will  become  mere  walking  bundles 
of  habits,  they  would  give  more  heed  to  then- 
conduct  while  in  the  plastic  state.  We  are 
spinning  our  own  fates,  good  or  evil,  and  never 
to  be  undone.  Every  smallest  stroke  of  virtue 
or  of  vice  leaves  its  never-so-little  scar.  The 
drunken  Rip  Van  Winkle,  in  Jefferson's  play, 
excuses  himself  for  every  fresh  dereliction  by 
saying,  'I  won't  count  this  time!'  Well!  he 
may  not  count  it  and  a  kind  heaven  may  not 
count  it;  but  it  is  being  counted  none  the  less. 
Down  among  his  nerve-cells  and  fibers  the 
molecules  are  counting  it.  registering  it,  and 
storing  it  up  to  be  used  against  him  when  the 
next  temptation  comes.  Nothing  we  ever  do 


70  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

is,  in  strict  scientific  literalness,  wiped  out. 
Of  course  this  has  its  good  side  as  well  as  its 
bad  one.  As  we  become  permanent  drunkards 
by  so  many  drinks,  so  we  become  saints  in 
the  moral,  and  authorities  and  experts  in  the 
practical  and  scientific,  spheres,  by  so  many 
separate  acts  and  hours  of  work.  But  let  no 
youth  have  any  anxiety  about  the  upshot  of 
his  education,  whatever  the  line  of  it  may  be. 
If  he  keep  faithfully  busy  each  hour  of  the 
working  day,  he  may  safely  leave  the  final 
result  to  itself.  He  can  with  perfect  certainty 
count  on  waking  up  some  fine  morning,  to 
find  himself  one  of  the  competent  ones  of  his 
generation,  in  whatever  pursuit  he  has  singled 
out.  Silently,  between  all  the  details  of  his 
business,  the  power  of  judging  in  all  that  class 
of  matter  will  have  built  itself  up  within  him 
as  a  possession  that  will  never  pass  away. 
Young  people  should  know  the  truth  of  this 
in  advance.  The  ignorance  of  it  has  probably 
engendered  more  discouragement  and  faint- 
heartedness in  youths  embarking  on  arduous 
careers  than  all  other  causes  put  together." 


CHAPTER  V 
FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY 
OF  all  the  mental  operations  employed 
by  the  student,  memory  is  probably  the 
one  in  which  the  greatest  inefficiency  is 
manifested.  Though  we  often  fail  to 
realize  it,  much  of  our  life  is  taken  up 
with  memorizing.  Every  time  we  make 
use  of  past  experience,  we  rely  upon  this 
function  of  the  mind,  but  in  no  occupation 
is  it  quite  so  practically  important  as  in 
study.  We  shall  begin  our  investigation 
of  memory  by  dividing  it  into 


^ 

or  stages-^Impression,  'Retention,"  -Recall 
and  'Recognition.  Any  act  of  memory 
involves  them  all.  There  is  first  a  stage 
when  the  material  is  being  impressed; 
second,  a  stage  when  it  is  being  retained 
so  that  it  may  be  revived  in  the  future; 
third,  a  stage  of  recall  when  the  retained 
material  is  revived  to  meet  present  needs  ; 
fourth,  a  feeling  of  recognition,  through 

71 


72  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

which  the  material  is  recognized  as  having 
previously  been  in  the  mind. 

Jmgressionjs  accomplished  through  the 
sense  organs;  and  in  the  foregoing  chapter 
we  laid  down  the  rule,  Guard  the  avenues 
of  impression  and  admit  only  such  things 
as  you  wish  to  retain.  This  necessitates 
that  you  go  slowly  at  first.  This  is  a 
principle  of  all  habit  formation,  but  is 
especially  important  in  habits  of  memoriz- 
ing. Much  of  the  poor  memory  that 
people  complain  about  is  due  to  the  fact 
that  they  make  first  impressions  care- 
lessly. One  reason  why  people  fail  to 
remember  names  is  that  they  do  not  get  a 
clear  impression  of  the  name  at  the  start. 
They  are  introduced  in  a  hurry  or  the 
introducer  mumbles;  consequently  no  clear 
impression  is  secured.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances how  could  one  expect  to  retain 
and  recall  the  name?  Qo  slowly,  then,  in 
impressing  material  for  the  first  time.  As 
you  look  up  the  words  of  a  foreign  language 
in  the  lexicon,  trying  to  memorize  their 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  73 

English  equivalents,  take  plenty  of  time. 
Get  a  clear  impression  of  how  the  word 
looks  or  sounds. 

Inasmuch  as  impressions  may  be  made 
through  any  of  the  sense  organs,  one 
problem  in  the  improvement  of  memory 
concerns  the  choice  of  sense  avenues.  As 
an  infant  you  used  all  senses  impartially 
in  your  eager  search  after  information. 
You  voraciously  put  things  into  your 
mouth  and  discovered  that  some  things 
were  sweet,  some  sour.  You  bumped  your 
head  against  things  and  learned  that  some 
were  hard  and  some  soft.  In  your  insati- 
able curiosity  you  pulled  things  apart  and 
peered  into  them;  in  short,  utilized  all  the 
sense  organs.  In  adult  life,  however,  and 
in  education  as  it  takes  place  through  the 
agency  of  books  and  instructors,  most 
learning  depends  upon  the  eye  and  ear. 
Even  yet,  however,  you  learn  many  things 
through  the  sense  of  touch  and  through 
muscle  movement,  though  you  may  be 
unaware  of  it.  You  probably  have  better 


74  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

success  retaining  impressions  made  upon 
one  sense  than  another.  The  majority  of^ 
people  retain  better  things  that  are  visu- 
ally impressed.  Such  persons  think  often 
in  terms  of  visual  images.  When  thinking 
of  water  running  from  a  faucet,  they  can 
see  the  water  fall,  see  it  splash,  but  have 
no  trace  of  the  sound.  The  whole  event 
is  noiseless  in  memory.  When  they  think 
of  their  instructor,  they  can  see  him  stand- 
ing at  his  desk  but  cannot  imagine  the 
sound  of  his  voice.  When  striving  to  think 
of  the  causes  leading  to  the  Civil  War, 
they  picture  them  as  they  are  listed  on 
the  page  of  the  text-book  or  note-book. 
Other  people  have  not  this  ability  to  recall 
in  visual  terms,  but  depend  to  greater 
extent  upon  sounds.  When  asked  to  think 
about  their  instructor,  they  do  it  in  terms 
of  his  voice.  When  asked  to  conjugate  a 
French  verb,  they  hear  it  pronounced 
mentally  but  do  not  see  it  on  the  page. 
These  are  extremes  of  imagery  type,  but 
they  illustrate  preferences  as  they  are 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  75 

found  in  many  persons.  Some  persons  use 
all  senses  with  ease;  others  unconsciously 
work  out  combinations,  preferring  one 
sense  for  some  kinds  of  material  and 
another  for  other  kinds.  For  example,  one 
might  prefer  visual  impression  for  remem- 
bering dates  in  history  but  auditory  im- 
pression for  conjugating  French  verbs. 
You  will  find  it  profitable  to  examine  your- 
self and  discover  your  preferences.  If  you 
find  that  you  have  greater  difficulty  in 
remembering  material  impressed  through 
the  ear  than  through  the  eye,  reduce  things 
to  visual  terms  as  much  as  possible.  Make 
your  lecture  notes  more  complete  or  tabu- 
late things  that  you  wish  to  remember,  thus 
securing  impression  from  the  written  form. 
The  writer  has  difficulty  in  remeniBerlng 
names  that  are  only  heard.  So  he  asks  that 
the  name  be  spelled,  then  projects  the  let- 
ters on  an  imaginary  background,  thus 
forming  visual  stuff  which  can  easily  be 
recalled.  If,  on  the  contrary,  you  remem- 
ber best  the  things  that  you  hear,  you  may 


76  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

find  it  a  good  plan  to  read  your  lessons 
aloud.  Many  a  student,  upon  the  discov- 
ery of  such  a  preference,  has  increased  his 
memory  ability  many  fold  by  adopting  the 
simple  expedient  of  reading  his  lessons 
aloud.  It  might  be  pointed  out  that  while 
you  are  reading  aloud,  you  are  making 
more  than  auditory  impressions.  By  the 
use  of  the  vocal  organs  you  are  making 
muscular  impressions^  which  also  aid  in 


learning,  as  will  be  pointed  out  in  Chapter 
VIII. 

After  this  discussion  do  not  jump  to  the 
conclusion  that  just  because  you  find  some 
difficulty  in  using  one  sense  avenue  for 
impression,  it  is  therefore  impossible  to 
develop  it.  Facility  in  using  particular 
senses  can  be  gained  by  practice.  To 
improve  ability  to  form  visual  images  of 
things,  practise  calling  up  visions  of  things. 
Try  to  picture  a  page  of  your  history  text- 
book. Can  you  see  the  headlines  of  the 
sections  and  the  paragraphs?  To  develop 
auditory  imagery,  practise  calling  up 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  77 

sounds.  Try  to  image  your  French  instruc- 
tor's voice  in  saying  eleve.  The  develop- 
ment of  these  sense  fields  is  a  slow  and 
laborious  process  and  one  questions 
whether  it  is  worth  while  for  a  student  to 
undertake  the  labor  involved  when  another 
sense  is  already  very  efficient.  Probably  it 
is  most  economical  to  arrange  impressions 
so  as  to  favor  the  sense  that  is  already  well 
developed  and  reliable. 

Another  important  condition  of  impres- 
sion is  repetition.  It  is  well  known  that 
materiaTwhichT  is  repeated  several  times  is 
remembered  more  easily  than  that  im- 
pressed but  once.  "If  two  repetitions 
induce  a  given  liability  to  recall,  four  will 
give  double  the  liability,  and  others  in  pro- 
portion. ' '  Your  knowledge  of  brain  action 
makes  this  rule  intelligible,  because  you 
know  the  pathway  is  deepened  every  time 
the  nervous  current  passes  over  it. 

Experiments  in  the  psychological  labora- 
tory have  shown  that  it  is  best  in  making 
impressions  to  make  more  than^enough 


78  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

impressions  to  insure  recall.  "If  material 
is  to  be  retained  for  any  length  of  time,  a 
simple  mastery  of  it  for  immediate  recall 
is  not  sufficient.  It  should  be  learned  far 
beyond  the  point  of  immediate  reproduc- 
tion if  time  and  energy  are  to  be  saved. " 
This  principle  of  learning  points  out  the 
fact  that  theje  are  two  kinds  of  memory — 
immediate  and,  deferred.  The  first  kind 
involves  recall  immediately  after  impres- 
sion is  made;  the  second  involves  recall  at 
some  later  time.  It  is  a  well-known  fact 
that  things  learned  a  long  time  before  they 
are  to  be  recalled  fade  away.  If  you  are 
not  going  to  recall  material  until  a  long 
time  after  the  impression,  store  up  enough 
impressions  so  that  you  can  afford  to  lose 
a  few  and  still  retain  enough  until  time 
for  recall.  Another  reason  for  '  overlearn- 
ing"  is  that  when  the  time  comes  for  recall 
you  are  likely  to  be  disturbed.  If  it  is  a 
time  of  public  performance,  you  may  be 
embarrassed;  or  you  may  be  hurried 
or  under  distractions.  Accordingly  you 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  79 

should  have  the  material  exceedingly  well 
memorized  so  that  these  distractions  will 
not  prove  detrimental. 

The  mere  statement  made  above,  that 
repetition  is  necessary  in  impression,  is  not 
sufficient.  It  is  important  to  know  how  to 
distribute  the  repetitions.  Suppose  you 
are  memorizing  "Psalm  of  Life"  to  be 
recited  a  month  from  to-day,  and  that  you 
require  thirty  repetitions  of  the  poem  to 
learn  it.  Shall  you  make  these  thirty  repe- 
titions at  one  sitting?  Or  shall  you  distrib- 
ute them  among  several  sittings?  In  gen- 
eral, it  is  better  to  spread  the  repetitions 
over  a  period  of  time.  The  question  then 
arises,  what  is  the  most  effective  distribu- 
tion? Various  combinations  are  possible. 
You  might  rehearse  the  poem  once  a  day 
during  the  month,  or  twice  a  day  for  the 
first  fifteen  days,  or  the  last  fifteen  days, 
four  times  every  fourth  day,  ad  infinitum. 
In  the  face  of  these  possibilities  is  there 
anything  that  will  guide  us  in  distributing 
the  repetitions?  We  shall  get  some  light 


80  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

on  the  question  from  an  examination  of 
the  curve  of  forgetting — a  curve  that  has 
been  plotted  showing  the  rate  at  which  the 
mind  tends  to  forget.  Forgetting  pro- 
ceeds according  to  law,  the  curve  descend- 
ing rapidly  at  first  and  then  more  slowly. 
"The  larger  proportion  of  the  material 
learned  is  forgotten  the  first  day  or  so. 
After  that  a  constantly  decreasing  amount 
is  forgotten  on  each  succeeding  day  for 
perhaps  a  week,  when  the  amount  remains 
practically  stationary."  This  gives  us 
some  indication  that  the  early  repetitions 
should  be  closer  together  ttan  those  at  the 
end  of  the  period.  So  long  as  you  are  for- 
getting rapidly  you  will  need  more  repe- 
titions in  order  to  counterbalance  the 
tendency  to  forget.  You  might  well  make 
five  repetitions;  then  rest.  In  about  an 
hour,  five  more;  within  the  next  twenty- 
four  hours,  five  more.  By  this  time  you 
should  have  the  poem  memorized,  and  all 
within  two  days.  You  would  still  have 
fifteen  repetitions  of  the  thirty,  and  these 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  81 

might  be  used  in  keeping  the  poem  fresh 
in  the  mind  by  a  repetition  every  other 
day. 

As  intimated  above,  one  important  prin- 
ciple in  memorizing  is  to  make  the^first 
impressions  as  early  as  possible,  for  older 
impressions  have  many  chances  of  being 
retained.  This  is  evidenced  by  the  vivid- 
ness of  childhood  scenes  in  the  minds  of 
our  grandparents.  An  old  soldier  recalls 
with  great  vividness  events  that  happened 
during  the  Civil  War,  but  forgets  events 
of  yesterday.  There  is  involved  here  a 
principle  of  nervous  action  that  you  have 
already  encountered;  namely,  that  im- 
pressions are  more  easily  made  and  retained 
in  youth.  It  should  also  be  observed  that 
pathways  made  early  have  more  chances 
of  being  used  than  those  made  recently. 
Still  another  peculiarity  of  nervous  action  is 
revealed  in  these  extended  periods  of  mem- 
orizing. It  has  been  discovered  that  if  a 
rest  is  taken  between  impressions,  the  im- 
pressions become  more  firmly  fixed.  This 


82  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

points  to  the  presence  of  a  surprising  power, 
by  which  we  are  able  to  learn,  as  it  were, 
while  we  sleep.  We  shall  understand  this 
better  if  we  try  to  imagine  what  is  hap- 
pening in  the  nervous  system.  ^Processes 
of  nutrition  are  constantly  going  on.  The 
blood  brings  in  particles  to  repair  the  nerve 
cells,  rebuilding  them  according  to  the 
pattern  left  by  the  last  impression.  Indeed, 
the  entrance  of  this  new  material  makes 
the  impression  even  more  fixed.  The 
nutritional  processes  seem  to  set  the  im- 
pression much  as  a  hypo  bath  fixes  or  sets 
an  impression  on  a  photographic  plate. 
This  peculiarity  of  memory  led  Professor 
James  to  suggest,  paradoxically,  that  we 
learn  to  skate  in  summer  and  to  swim  in 
winter.  And,  indeed,  one  usually  finds, 
in  beginning  the  skating  season,  that  after 
the  initial  stiffness  of  muscles  wears  off, 
one  glides  along  with  surprising  agility. 
You  see  then  that  if  you  plan  things 
rightly,  Nature  will  do  much  of  your  learn- 
ing for  you.  It  might  be  suggested  that 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  88 

perhaps  things  impressed  just  before  going 
to  sleep  have  a  better  chance  to  "set" 
than  things  impressed  at  other  times  for 
the  reason  that  sleep  is  the  time  when  the 
reparative  processes  of  the  body  are  most 
active. 

Since  the    brain  pattern  requires  timef 
to  "set, "  it  is  important  that  after  thej 
first  Impression  you  refrain  from  introduc- 
ing anything  immediately  into  the   mind 
that  might  disturb  it.     After  you  hava 
impressed  the  poem  you  are  memorizing, 
do  not  immediately  follow  it  by  another 
poem.    Let  the  brain  rest  for  three  or  four 
minutes  until  after  the  first  impressions 
have  had  a  chance  to  "set." 

Now  that  we  have  regarded  this  "un- 
conscious memorizing"  from  the  neuro- 
logical standpoint,  let  us  consider  it  from 
the  psychological  standpoint.  How  are 
the  ideas  being  modified  during  the  inter- 
vals between  impressions?  Modern  psy- 
chology has  discovered  that  much  memo- 
rizing goes  on  without  our  knowing  it, 


84  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

paradoxical  as  that  may  seem.  The  proc- 
esses may  be  described  in  terms  of  the 
doctrine  of  association,  which  is  that 
whenever  two  things  have  once  been  asso- 
ciated together  in  the  mind,  there  is  a 
tendency  thereafter  "if  the  first  of  them 
recurs,  for  the  other  to  come  with  it." 
After  the  poem  of  our  illustration  has 
once  been  repeated,  there  is  a  tendency 
for  events  in  everyday  experience  that 
are  like  it  to  associate  themselves  with  it. 
For  example,  in  the  course  of  a  day  or  week 
many  things  might  arise  and  recall  to  you 
the  line,  "Life  is  real,  life  is  earnest",  and 
it  would  become,  by  that  fact,  more  firmly 
fixed  in  the  mind.  This  valuable  semi-con- 

•H^^^ 

scious  recall  requires  that  you  must  make 
the  first  impression  as  early  as  possible 
before  the  time  for  ultimate  recall.  This 
persistence  of  ideas  in  the  mind  means 
"that  the  process  of  learning  does  not  cease 
with  the  actual  work  of  learning,  but  that, 
if  not  disturbed,  this  process  runs  on  of 
itself  for  a  time,  and  adds  a  little  to  the 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  85 

result  of  our  labors.  It  also  means  that,  if 
it  is  to  our  advantage  to  stand  in  readiness 
with  some  word  or  thought,  we  shall  be 
able  to  do  so,  if  only  this  word  or  thought 
recur  to  us  but  once,  some  time  before  the 
critical  moment.  So  we  remember  to  keep 
a  promise  to  pay  a  call,  to  make  a  remark 
at  the  proper  time,  even  though  we  turn 
our  mind  to  other  work  or  talk  for  some 
hours  between.  We  can  do  this  because, 
if  not  vigorously  prevented,  ideas  and 
words  keep  on  reappearing  in  the  mind." 
You  may  utilize  this  principle  in  theme- 
writing  to  good  advantage.  As  soon  as  the 
instructor  announces  the  subject  for  a 
theme,  begin  to  think  about  it.  Gather 
together  all  the  ideas  you  have  about  the 
subject  and  start  your  mind  to  work  upon 
it.  Suppose  you  take  as  a  theme-subject 
The  Value  of  Training  in  Public  Speaking 
for  a  Business  Man.  The  first  time  this  is 
suggested  to  you,  a  few  thoughts,  at  least, 
will  come  to  you.  Write  them  down,  even 
though  they  are  disconnected  and  hetero- 


86  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

geneous.  Then  as  you  go  about  your  other 
work  you  will  find  a  number  of  occasions 
that  will  arouse  ideas  bearing  upon  this 
subject.  You  may  read  in  a  newspaper  of 
a  brilliant  speech  made  before  the  Chamber 
of  Commerce  by  a  leading  business  man, 
which  will  serve  as  an  illustration  to  sup- 
port your  affirmative  position;  or  you  may 
attend  a  banquet  where  a  prominent  busi- 
ness man  disappoints  his  audience  with  a 
wretched  speech.  Such  experiences,  and 
many  others,  bearing  more  or  less  directly 
upon  the  subject,  will  come  to  you,  and 
will  call  up  the  theme-subject,  with  which 
they  will  unite  themselves.  Write  down 
these  ideas  as  they  occur,  and  you  will  find 
that  when  you  start  to  compose  the  theme 
formally,  it  almost  writes  itself,  requiring 
for  the  most  part  only  expansion  and 
arrangement  of  ideas.  While  thus  organiz- 
ing the  theme  you  will  reap  even  more 
^benefits  from  your  early  start,  for,  as  you 
are  composing  it,  you  will  find  new  ideas 
crowding  in  upon  you  which  you  did  not 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  87 

know  you  possessed,  but  which  had  been 
associating  themselves  in  your  mind  with 
this  topic  even  when  you  were  unaware  of 
the  fact. 

In  writing  themes,  the  principle  of  dis- 
tribution of  time  may  also  be  profitably 
employed.  After  you  have  once  written  a 
theme,  lay  it  aside  for  a  while — perhaps  a 
week.  Then  when  you  take  it  up,  read  it 
in  a  detached  manner  and  you  will  note 
many  places  where  it  may  be  improved. 
These  benefits  are  to  be  enjoyed  only  when 
a  theme  is  planned  a  long  time  ahead. 
Ifence  jhe  rule  to  start  as  early  as  possible. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  theme- 
writing,  which  was  called  up  by  the  discus- 
sion of  unconscious  memory,  another  sug- 
gestion will  be  given  that  may  be  of  service 
to  you.  When  correcting  a  theme,  employ 
more  than  one  sense  avenue.  Do  not  simply 
glance  over  it  with  your  eye.  Read  it 
aloud,  either  to  yourself  or,  better  still,  to 
someone  else.  When  you  do  this  you  will 
be  amazed  to  discover  how  different  it 


88  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

sounds  and  what  a  new  view  you  secure  of 
it.  When  you  thus  change  your  method  of 
composition,  you  will  find  a  new  group  of 
ideas  thronging  into  your  mind.  In  the 
auditory  rendition  of  a  theme  you  will  dis- 
cover faults  of  syntax  which  escaped  you  in 
silent  reading.  You  will  note  duplication 
of  words,  split  infinitives,  mixed  tenses, 
poorly  balanced  sentences.  Moreover,  if 
your  mind  has  certain  peculiarities,  you 
may  find  even  more  advantages  accruing 
from  such  a  practice.  The  author,  for 
example,  has  a  slightly  different  set  of  ideas 
at  his  disposal  according  to  the  medium  of 
expression  employed.  When  writing  with 
a  pencil,  one  set  of  ideas  comes  to  mind; 
with  a  typewriter  slightly  different  ideas 
arise;  when  talking  to  an  audience,  still  dif- 
ferent ideas.~  Three  sets  of  ideas  and  three 
vocabularies  are  thus  available  for  use  on 
any  subject.  In  adopting  this  device  of 
composing  through  several  mediums,  you 
sEould  combine  with  it  the  principle  of  dis- 
tributing time  already  discussed  in  connec- 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  89 

tion  with  repetition  of  impressions.  Write 
a  theme  one  day,  then  lay  it  aside  for  a  few 
days  and  go  back  to  it  with  a  fresh  mind. 
The  rests  will  be  found  very  beneficial  in 
helping  you  to  get  a  new  viewpoint  of  the 
subject. 

Reverting  to  our  discussion  of  memory, 
we  come  upon  another  question :  In  mem- 
orizing material  like  the  poem  of  our 
example,  should  one  impress  the  entire 
poem  at  once,  or  break  it  up  into  parts, 
impressing  a  stanza  each  day?  Most  people 
would  respond,  without  thought,  the  latter, 
and,  as  a  matter  of  fact,  most  memorizing 
takes  place  in  this  way.  Experimental  psy- 
chology, however,  has  discovered  that  this 
is  uneconomical.  The  selection,  if  of  moder- 
ate length,  should  be  impressed  as  a  whole. 
If  too  long  for  this,  it  should  be  broken  up  as 
little  as  possible.  In  order  to  see  the  neces- 
sity for  this  let  us  examine  your  experiences 
with  the  memorization  of  poems  in  your 
early  school  days.  You  probably  pro- 
ceeded as  follows:  After  school  one  day, 


90  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

you  learned  the  first  stanza,  then  went  out 
to  play.  The  next  day  you  learned  the  sec- 
ond one,  and  so  on.  You  thought  at  the  end 
of  a  week  that  you  had  memorized  it  because, 
at  the  end  of  each  day's  sitting,  you  were 
able  to  recite  perfectly  the  stanza  learned 
that  day.  On  "speaking  day"  you  started 
out  bravely  and  recited  the  first  stanza 
without  mishap.  When  you  started  to  think 
of  the  second  one,  however,  it  would  not 
come.  The  memory  balked.  Now  what  was 
the  matter?  How  can  we  explain  this  dis- 
tressing blank?  In  psychological  terms,  we 
ascribe  the  difficulty  to  the  failure  to  make 
proper  associations  between  stanzas.  Asso- 
ciation was  made  effectively  between  the 
lines  of  the  single  stanzas,  but  not  between 
the  separate  stanzas.  After  you  finished 
impressing  the  first  stanza,  you  went  about 
something  else;  playing  ball,  perhaps. 
When  you  approached  the  poem  the  next 
day  you  started  in  with  the  second  stanza. 
There  was  then  no  bridge  between  the  two. 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  91 

There  was  nothing  to  link  the  last  line  of 
the  first  stanza, 

"And  things  are  not  what  they  seem," 
with  the  first  line  of  the  next  stanza, 
"Life  is  real,  life  is  earnest." 

This  makes  clear  the  necessity  of  impress- 
ing the  poem  as  a  whole  instead  of  by  parts. 
According  to  another  classification,  there 
are  two  ways  of  memorizing — by  rote  and 
by  logical  associations.  Rote  memorizing 
involves  the  repetition  of  material  just  as 
it  stands,  and  usually  requires  such  long  and 
laborious  drill  that  it  is  seldom  economical. 
True,  some  matter  must  be  memorized  this 
way;  such  as  the  days  of  the  week  and 
the  names  of  the  months;  but  there  is 
another  and  gentler  ^method  which  is  usu- 
ally more  effective  and  economical  than 
that  of  brutal  repetition.  That  is  the 
method  of  logical  association,  by  which  one 
links  up  a  new  fact  with  something  already 
in  the  mind.  If,  for  example,  you  wish  to 
remember  the  date  of  the  World's  Fair  in 


92  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

Chicago,  you  might  proceed  as  follows: 
Ask  yourself,  What  did  the  Fair  commem- 
orate? The  discovery  of  America  in  1492, 
the  four  hundredth  anniversary  occurring 
in  1892.  The  Fair  could  not  be  made  ready 
in  that  year,  however,  so  was  postponed  a 
year.  Such  a  process  of  memorizing  the 
date  is  less  laborious  than  the  method  of 
rote  memory,  and  is  usually  more  likely  to 
lead  to  ready  recall.  The  old  fact  already 
in  mind  acts  as  a  magnet  which  at  some 
later  time  may  call  up  other  facts  that  had 
once  been  associated  with  it.  You  can  easily 
see  that  this  new  fact  might  have  been 
associated  with  several  old  facts,  thus  secur- 
ing more  chances  of  being  called  up.  From 
this  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  more  facts 
you  have  in  your  mind  about  a  subject  the 
more  chances  you  have  of  retaining  new 
facts.  It  is  sometimes  thought  that  if  a 
person  stores  so  much  in  his  memory  it  will 
soon  be  so  full  that  he  cannot  memorize  any 
more.  This  is  a  false  notion,  involving  a 
conception  of  the  brain  as  a  hopper  into 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  93 

which  impressions  are  poured  until  it  runs 
over.  On  the  contrary,  it  should  be 
regarded  as  an  interlacing  of  fibers  with 

V*....    .  ° 

infinite  possibilities  of  inter-connection, 
and  no  one  ever  exhausts  the  number  of 
associations  that  can  be  made. 

The  method  of  logical  association  may  be 
employed  with  telling  effect  in  the  study  of 
foreign  languages.  When  you  meet  a  new 
word  scrutinize  it  carefully  for  some  trace 
of  a  word  already  familiar  to  you  either 
in  that  language  or  in  another.  This 
independent  discovery  of  meanings  is  a 
very  great  aid  in  saving  time  and  in  fixing 
the  meaning  of  new  words.  Opportunities 
for  this  method  are  especially  frequent  in 
the  German  language,  since  so  many  Ger- 
man words  are  formed  by  compounding 
other  words.  "  Rathausmarkt "  is  a  long 
and  apparently  difficult  German  word,  and 
one's  first  temptation  is  to  look  it  up  in 
the  lexicon  and  promptly  forget  it.  Let 
us  analyze  it,  however,  and  we  shall  see 
that  it  is  only  a  compound  of  already 


94  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

familiar  words.  "Rat"  is  already  familiar 
as  the  word  for  counsel  ("raten"  to  give 
advice);  "haus"  is  equally  familiar.  So 
we  see  that  the  first  part  of  the  word  means 
council-house;  the  council-house  of  a  city 
is  called  a  city  hall.  "Markt"  is  equally 
familiar  as  market-square,  so  the  signifi- 
cance of  the  entire  word  stands,  city-hall- 
square.  By  such  a  method  of  utilizing 
facts  already  known,  you  may  make  your- 
self much  more  independent  of  the  lexicon 
and  may  make  your  memory  for  foreign 
words  much  more  tenacious. 

We  approach  a  phase  of  impression  the 
importance  of  which  is  often  unsuspected; 
namely,  the  mtenjaoiL  with  which  mem- 
orizing is  done.  The  fidelity  of  memory  is 
greatly  affected  by  the  intention.  If,  at  the 
time  of  impression,  you  intend  to  retain 
only  until  the  time  of  Recall,  the  material 
tends  to  slip  away  after  that  time.  If,  how- 
ever, you  impress  with  the  intention  to  re- 
tain permanently  the  material  stays  by  you 
better.  Students  make  a  great  mistake 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  95 

when  they  study  for  the  purpose  merely 
of  retaining  until  after  examination  time. 
Intend  to  retain  facts  permanently,  and 
there  will  be  greater  likelihood  of  their 
permanence. 

Our  discussion  up  to  this  point  has 
centred  around  the  phase  of  memory 
called  impression.  We  have  described 
some  of  the  conditions  favorable  to  im- 
pression and  have  seen  that  certain  and 
accurate  memory  depends  upon  adher- 
ence to  them.  The  next  phase  of  memory 
— Retention^— cannot  be  described  in  psy- 
chological terms.  We  know  we  retain  facts 
after  they  are  once  impressed,  but  as  to 
their  status  in  the  mind  we  can  say  nothing. 
If  I  should  ask  you  when  the  Declaration 
of  Independence  was  signed,  you  would 
reply  instantly.  When  I  ask  you,  however, 
where  that  fact  was  five  minutes  ago,  you 
cannot  answer.  Somewhere  in  the  recesses 
of  the  mind,  we  say,  but  as  to  immediate 
awareness  of  it,  there  was  none.  We  may 
try  to  think  of  retention  in  terms  of  nerve 


96  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

cells  and  say  that  at  the  time  when  the 
material  was  first  impressed  there  was 
some  modification  made  in  certain  nerve 
cells  which  persisted.  This  trait  of  nerve 
modifiability  is  one  factor  which  accounts 
for  greater  retentive  power  in  some  persons 
than  in  others.  It  must  not  be  concluded, 
however,  that  all  good  memory  is  due  to 
the  inheritance  of  this  trait.  It  is  due 
partly  to  observance  of  proper  conditions 
of  impression,  and  much  can  be  done  to 
overcome  or  offset  innate  difficulty  of 
modification  by  such  observance. 

We  are  now  ready  to  examine  the  third 
phase  of  memory — Recall^  This  is  the 
stage  at  which  material  that  has  been 
impressed  and  retained  is  recalled  to  serve 
the  purpose  for  which  it  was  memorized. 
Recall  is  thus  the  goal  of  memory,  and  all 
the  devices  so  far  discussed  have  it  for 
their  object.  Can  we  facilitate  recall  by 
any  other  means  than  by  faithful  and  in- 
telligent impressions?  For  answer  let  us 
examine  the  state  of  mind  at  time  of  recall. 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  97 

We  find  that  it  is  a  unique  mental  state. 
It  differs  from  impression  in  being  a  period 
of  more  active  search  for  facts  in  the  mind 
accompanied  by  expression,  instead  of  a 
concentration  upon  the  external  impres- 
sion. It  is  also  usually  accompanied  by 
motor  expressions,  either  talking  or  writing. 
Since  recall  is  a  unique  mental  state,  you 
ought  to  prepare  for  it  by  means  of  a  re- 
hearsal. When  you  are  memorizing  any- 
thing to  be  recalled,  make  part  of^  your, 
memorizing  a  rehearsal  of  it,  if  possible, 
under  same  conditions  as  final  recall.  In 
memorizing  from  a  book,  first  make  im- 
pression, then  close  the  book  and  practise 
recall.  When  memorizing  a  selection  to  be 
given  in  a  public  speaking  class,  inter- 
sperse the  periods  of  impression  with  pe- 
riods of  recall.  This  is  especially  necessary 
in  preparation  for  public  speaking,  for 
facing  an  audience  gives  rise  to  a  vastly 
different  psychic  attitude  from  that  of 
impression.  The  sight  of  an  audience  may 
be  embarrassing  or  exciting.  Further- 


98  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

more,  unforeseen  distractions  may  arise. 
Accordingly,  create  those  conditions  as 
nearly  as  possible  in  your  preparation. 
Imagine  yourself  facing  the  audience. 
Practise  aloud  so  that  you  will  become 
accustomed  to  the  sound  of  your  own  voice. 
The  importance  of  the  practice  of  recall  as 
a  part  of  the  memory  process  can  hardly 
be  overestimated.  One  psychologist  has 
advised  that  in  memorizing  significant 
material  more  than  half  the  time  should 
be  spent  in  practising  recall. 

There  still  remains  a  fourth  phase  of 
memory  — -Recognition.  Whenever  a  re- 
membered fact  is  recalled,  it  is  accompanied 
by  a  characteristic  feeling  which  we  call 
the  feeling  of  recognition.  It  has  been 
described  as  a  feeling  of  familiarity,  a  glow 
of  warmth,  a  sense  of  ownership,  a  feeling 
of  intimacy.  As  you  walk  down  the  street 
of  a  great  city  you  pass  hundreds  of  faces, 
all  of  them  strange.  Suddenly  in  the 
crowd  you  catch  sight  of  some  one  you  know 
and  are  instantly  suffused  with  a  glow  of 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  99 

feeling  that  is  markedly  different  from 
your  feeling  toward  the  others.  That  glow 
represents  the  feeling  of  recognition!  It 
is  always  present  during^  recall  and  may 
be  used  to  great  advantage  in  studying. 
It  derives  its  virtue  for  our  purpose  from 
the  fact  that  it  is  a  feeling,  and  at  the  time 
of  feeling  the  bodily  activities  in  general 
are  more  active.  Changes  occur  in  heart 
beat,  breathing;  various  glandular  secre- 
tions are  affected,  the  digestive  organs 
respond.  In  this  general  quickening  of 
bodily  activity  we  have  reason  to  believe 
that  the  nervous  system  partakes,  and 
things  become  impressed  more  readily. 
Thus  the  feeling  of  recognition  that  accom- 
panies recall  is  responsible  for  one  of  the 
benefits  of  reviews.  At  such  a  time  ma- 
terial once  memorized  becomes  tingec 
with  a  feelingful  color  different  from  that 
which  accompanied  it  when  new.  Review, 
then,  not  merely  to  produce  additiona 
impressions,  but  also  to  take  advantage  o: 
the  feeling  of  recognition. 


100          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

We  have  now  discussed  memory  in  its 
four  phases  and  have  seen  clearly  that  it 
operates  not  in  a  blind,  chaotic  manner, 
but  according  to  law.  Certain  conditions 
are  required  and  when  they  are  met  mem- 
ory is  good.  After  providing  proper  con- 
ditions for  memory,  then,  trust  your  mem- 
ory. An  attitude  of  confidence  is  very 
necessary.  If,  when  you  are  memorizing, 
you  continually  tremble  for  fear  that  you 
will  not  recall  at  the  desired  moment,  the 
fixedness  of  the  impression  will  be  greatly 
hindered.  Therefore,  after  utilizing  all 
your  knowledge  about  the  conditions  of 
memorizing,  rest  content  and  trust  to  the 
laws  of  Nature.  They  will  not  fail  you. 

By  this  time  you  have  seen  that  memory 
is  not  a  mysterious  mental  faculty  with 
which  some  people  are  generously  endowed, 
and  of  which  others  are  deprived.  All 
people  of  normal  intelligence  can  remember 
and  can  improve  their  ability  if  they  desire. 
The  improvement  does  not  take  the  form 
that  some  people  expect,  however.  No 


FIRST  AIDS  TO  MEMORY  101 

magic  wand  can  transform  you  into  a 
good  memorizer.  You  must  work  the 
transformation  yourself.  Furthermore,  it 
is  not  an  instantaneous  process  to  be  accom- 
plished overnight.  It  will  come  about 
only  aftef^tmTaave  built  up  a  set  of  habits, 
according  to  our  conception  'oTstu3y"aT-a 
process  of  habit  formation. 

A  final  word  of  caution  should  be  added. 
Some  people  think  of  memory  as  a  sepa- 
rate division  or  compartment  of  the  mind 
which  can  be  controlled  and  improved  by 
exercising  it  alone.  Such  a  conception  is 
fallacious.  Improvement  in  memory  will 
involve  improvement  in  other  mental  abil- 

.  *~*-«~~~~™*^°''"'y^<^^«~«*'<™ 

ities,  and  you  will  find  that  as  you  improve 
your  ability  to  remember,  you  will  develop 
at  the  same  time  better  powers  to  concen- 
trate attention,  to  image,  to  associate 
facts  and  to  reason. 


CHAPTER  VI 
CONCENTRATION  OF  ATTENTION 

NEARLY  everyone  has  difficulty  in  the 
concentration  of  attention.  Brain  workers 
in  business  and  industry,  students  in  high 
school  and  college,  and  even  professors  in 
universities,  complain  of  the  same  difficulty. 
Attention  seems  in  some  way  to  be  at  the 
very  core  of  mental  activity,  for  no  matter 
from  what  aspect  we  view  the  mind,  its 
excellence  seems  to  depend  upon  the  power 
to  concentrate  attention.  When  we  exam- 
ine a  growing  infant,  one  of  the  first  signs 
by  which  we  judge  the  awakening  of  intelli- 
gence is  the  power  to  pay  attention  or  to 
"notice  things."  When  we  examine  the 
intellectual  ability  of  normal  adults  we  do 
so  by  means  of  tests  that  require  close  con- 
centration of  attention.  In  judging  the 
intelligence  of  people  with  whom  we  asso- 
ciate every  day,  we  regard  one  who  is  able 

to  maintain  close  attention  for  long  periods 
102 


CONCENTRATION  OF  ATTENTION  103 

of  time  as  a  person  of  strong  mind.  We 
rate  Thomas  Edison  as  a  powerful  thinker 
when  we  read  that  he  becomes  so  absorbed 
in  work  that  he  neither  eats  nor  sleeps. 
Finally,  when  we  examine  the  insane  and 
the  feeble-minded,  we  find  that  one  form 
which  their  derangements  take  is  an  inabil- 
ity to  control  the  attention.  This  evidence, 
added  to  our  own  experience,  shows  us  the 
importance  of  concentration  of  attention  in 
study  and  we  become  even  more  desirous 
of  investigating  attention  to  see  how  we 
may  develop  it. 

We  shall  be  better  able  to  discuss  atten- 
tion if  we  select  for  analysis  a  concrete  sit- 
uation when  the  mind  is  in  a  state  of  con- 
centrated attention.  Concentrate  for  a 
moment  upon  the  letter  O.  Although  you 
are  ostensibly  focussing  all  your  powers  of 
attention  upon  the  letter,  nevertheless  you 
are  really  aware  of  a  number  of  things 
besides;  of  other  words  on  the  page;  of 
other  objects  in  the  field  of  vision;  of  sounds 
in  the  room  and  on  the  street;  of  sensations 


104          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

from  your  clothing;  and  of  sensations  from 
your  bodily  organs,  such  as  the  heart  and 
lungs.  In  addition  to  these  sensations,  you 
will  find,  if  you  introspect  carefully  enough, 
that  your  mind  also  contains  a  number  of 
ideas  and  imaginings;  thoughts  about  the 
paragraph  you  just  read  or  about  one  of 
your  lessons.  Thus  we  see  that  at  a  time 
when  we  apparently  focus  our  attention 
upon  but  one  thing,  we  really  have  a  large 
number  of  things  in  our  mind,  and  they  are 
of  a  great  variety.  The  mental  field  might 
be  represented  by  a  circle,  at  the  centre  of 
which  is  the  object  of  attention.  It  may  be 
an  object  in  the  external  world  perceived 
through  one  of  the  senses,  or  it  may  be  an 
idea  we  are  thinking  about,  such,  for  ex- 
ample, as  the  idea  of  infinity.  But  whether 
the  thing  attended  to  is  a  perception  or  an 
idea,  we  may  properly  speak  of  it  as  the 
object  of  attention  or  the  " focal"  object. 
In  addition  to  this,  we  must^recogmze  the 
presence  of  a  large  number  of  other  objects, 
both  sensory  and  ideational.  These  are 


CONCENTRATION  OF  ATTENTION  105 

nearer  the  margin  of  the  mental  field,  so  we 
call  them  "marginaL" 

The  distinctive  thing  about  a  state  of 
mind  such  as  that  just  described  is  that  the 
focal  object  is  much  clearer  than  the  mar- 
ginal objects.  For  example,  when  you  fix- 
ated the  letter  O,  it  was  only  in  the  vaguest 
sort  of  fashion  that  you  were  aware  of  the 
contact  of  your  clothing  or  the  lurking 
ideas  of  other  lessons.  As  we  examine 
these  marginal  objects  further,  we  find  that 
they  are  continually  seeking  to  crowd  into 
the  centre  of  attention  and  to  become  clear. 
You  may  be  helped  in  forming  a  vivid  pict- 
ure of  conditions  if  you  think  of  the  mind 
as  a  stream  ever  in  motion,  and  as  it  flows 
on,  the  objects  in  it  continually  shift  their 
positions.  A  cross-section  of  the  stream  at 
any  moment  may  show  the  contents  of  the 
mind  arranged  in  a  particular  pattern,  but  at 
the  very  next  moment  they  may  be  arranged 
ina  different  pattern,  another  object  occupy- 
ing the  focus,  while  the  previous  tenant  is 
pushed  to  the  margin.  Thus  we  see  that  it 


106          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

is  a  tendency  of  the  mind  to  be  forever 
changing.  If  left  to  itself,  it  would  be  in 
ceaseless  fluctuation,  the  whim  of  every 
passing  fancy.  This  tendency  to  fluctuate 
comes  with  more  or  less  regularity,  some 
psychologists  say  every  second  or  two. 
True,  we  do  not  always  yield  to  the  fluctu- 
ating tendency,  nevertheless  we  are  recur- 
rently tempted,  and  we  must  exercise  con- 
tinuous effort  to  keep  a  particular  object 
at  the  focus.  The  power  to  exert  effort  and 
to  regulate  the  arrangement  of  our  states 
of  mind  is  the  peculiar  gift  of  man,  and  is  a 
prime  function  of  education.  Viewed  in 
this  light,  then,  we  see  that  the  voluntary 
focusing  of  our  attention  consists  in  the 
selecting  of  certain  objects  to  be  attended 
to,  and  the  ignoring  of  other  objects  which 
act  as  distractions.  We  may  conveniently 
classify  the  latter  as  external  sensations, 
bodily  sensations  and  irrelevant  ideas. 

Let  us  take  an  actual  situation  that  may 
arise  in  study  and  see  how  this  applies. 
Suppose  you  are  in  your  room  studying 


CONCENTRATION  OF  ATTENTION  107 

about  Charlemagne,  a  page  of  your  history 
text  occupying  the  centre  of  your  attention. 
The  marginal  distractions  in  such  a  case 
would  consist,  first,  in  external  sensations, 
such  as  the  glare  from  your  study-lamp, 
the  hissing  of  the  radiator,  the  practising 
of  a  neighboring  vocalist,  the  rattle  of 
passing  street-cars.  The  bodily  distrac- 
tions might  consist  of  sensations  of  weari- 
ness referred  to  the  back,  the  arms  and  the 
eyes,  and  fainter  sensations  from  the 
digestive  organs,  heart  and  lungs.  The 
irrelevant  ideas  might  consist  of  thoughts 
about  a  German  lesson  which  you  are 
going  to  study,  visions  of  a  face,  or  thoughts 
about  some  social  engagement.  These 
marginal  objects  are  in  the  mind  even 
when  you  conscientiously  focus  your  mind 
upon  the  history  lesson,  and,  though  vague, 
they  try  to  force  their  way  into  the  focus 
and  become  clear.  The  task  of  paying  I 
attention,  then,  consists  in  maintaining; 
the  desired  object  at  the  centre  of  the/ 
mental  field  and  keeping  the  distractions 

\ 


108          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

away.  With  this  definition  of  attention, 
we  see  that  in  order  to  increase  the  effec- 
tiveness of  attention  during  study,  we  must 
devise  means  for  overcoming  the  distrac- 
tions peculiar  to  study.  Obviously  the 
first  thing  is  to  eliminate  every  distraction 
possible.  Such  a  plan  of  elimination  may 
require  a  md^jjrearrangement  of_  study, 
conditions^  for  students  often  fail  to  real- 
ize how  wretched  their  conditions  of 
study  are  from  a  psychological  standpoint. 
They  attempt  to  study  in  rooms  with  two 
or  three  others  who  talk  and  move  about 
continually;  they  drop  down  in  any  spot 
in  the  library  and  expose  themselves  need- 
lessly to  a  great  number  of  distractions. 
If  you  wish  to  become  a  good  student,  you 
must  prepare  conditions  as  favorable  as 
possible  for  study.  Choose  a  quiet  room 
to  live  in,  free  from  distracting  sounds  and 
'sights.  Have  your  room  at  a  temperature 
neither  too  hot  nor  too  cold;  68°  F.  is 
usually  considered  favorable  for  study. 
When  reading  in  the  library,  sit  down  in 


CONCENTRATION  OF  ATTENTION  109 

a  quiet  spot,  with  your  back  to  the  door, 
so  you  will  not  be  tempted  to  look  up  as 
people  enter  the  room.  Do  not  sit  near  a 
group  of  gossipers  or  near  a  creaking  door. 
Having  made  the  external  conditions  favor- 
able for  study,  you  should  next  address 
yourself  tojthe  task  ofVeliminating  bodily 
distractions^  The  most  disturbing  of  these 
in  study  are  sensations  of  j[ati£U£,  for, 
contrary  to  the  opinion  of  many  people, 
study  is  very  fatiguing  work  and  involves 
continual  strain  upon  the  muscles  in  hold- 
ing the  body  still,  particularly  those  of 
the  back,  neck,  arms,  hands  and,  above 
all,  the  eyes.  How  many  movements  are 
made  by  your  eyes  in  the  course  of  an 
hour's  study!  They  sweep  back  and  forth 
across  the  page  incessantly,  being  moved 
by  six  muscles  which  are  bound  to  become 
fatigued.  Still  more  fatigue  comes  from 
the  contractions  of  delicate  muscles  within 
the  eyeball,  where  adjustments  are  made 
for  far  and  near  vision  and  for  varying 
amounts  of  light.  The  eyes,  then,  give 


110          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

riseto  jmich  fatigue,  and,  altogether,  are 
the  source  of  a  great  many  bodily  distrac- 
tions in  study. 

Other  distractions  may  consist  of  sen- 
sations from  the  clothing.  We  are  always 
vaguely  aware  of  pressure  of  our  clothing. 
Usually  it  is  not  sufficiently  noticeable  to 
cause  much  annoyance,  but  occasionally 
it  is,  as  is  demonstrated  at  night  when  we 
take  off  a  shoe  with  such  a  sigh  of  relief 
that  we  realize  in  retrospect  it  had  been 
vaguely  troubling  us  all  day. 

In  trying  to  create  conditions  for  efficient 
study,  many  bodily  distractions  can  be 
eliminated.  The  study  chair  should  be 
easy  to  sit  in  so  as  to  reduce  fatigue  of  the 
muscles  supporting  the  body;  the  book- 
rest  should  be  arranged  so  as  to  require 
little  effort  to  hold  the  book;  the  light^ 
should  come  over  the  left  shoulder]  This 
is  especially  ^necessary  In  'wntlngpso  that 
the  writing  hand  will  not  cast  a  shadow 
upon  the  work.  The  muscles  of  the  eyes 
will  be  rested  and  fatigue  will  be  retarded 


CONCENTRATION  OF  ATTENTION  111 

if  you  close  the  eyes  occasionally.  Then 
in  order  to  lessen  the  general  fatigue  of  the 
body,  you  may  find  it  advantageous  to 
rise  and  walk  about  occasionally.  Lastly, 
the  clptfimg  snouTcTbe  loose  and  uncon- 
fining;  especially  should  there  be  plenty  of 
room  for  circulation. 

In  the  overcoming  of  distractions,  we 
have  seen  that  much  may  be  done  by  way 
of  eliminating  distractions,  and  we  have 
pointed  out  the  way  to  accomplish  this  to 
a  certain  extent.  But  in  spite  of  our  most 
careful  provisions,  there  will  still  be  dis- 
tractions that  cannot  be  eliminated.  You 
cannot,  for  example,  chloroform  the  vocal- 
ist in  the  neighboring  apartment,  nor  stop 
the  street-cars  while  you  study;  you  can- 
not rule  out  fatigue  sensations  entirely, 
and  you  cannot  build  a  fence  around  the 
focus  of  your  mind  so  as  to  keep  out  un- 
welcome and  irrelevant  ideas.  The  only 
thing  to  do  then  is  to  accept  as  inevitable 
the  presence  of  some  distractions,  and  to 
realize  that  to  pay  attention,  it  is  neces- 


112          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

sary  to  habituate  yourself  to  the  ignoring 

of  distractions. 

In  the  accomplishment  of  this  end  it 
will  be  necessary  to  apply  the  principles 
of  habit  formation  already  described. 
Start  out  by  making  a  strong  determination 
to  ignore  all  distractions.  Practise  ignor- 
ing them,  and  do  not  let  a  slip  occur.  Try 
to  develop  interest  in  the  object  of  atten- 
tion, because  we  pay  attention  to  those 
things  in  which  we  are  most  interested. 
A  final  point  that  may  help  you  is  to  use 
the  first  lapse  of  attention  as  a  reminder 
of  the  object  you  desire  to  fixate  upon. 
This  may  be  illustrated  by  the  following 
example:  Suppose,  in  studying  a  history 
lesson,  you  come  upon  a  reference  to  the 
royal  apparel  of  Charlemagne.  The  word 
"royal"  might  call  up  purple,  a  North- 
western University  pennant,  the  person 
who  gave  it  to  you,  and  before  you  know 
it  you  are  off  in  a  long  day-dream  leading 
far  from  the  history  lesson  §ucn  migra- 
tions as  these  are  very  likely  to  occur  in 


CONCENTRATION  OF  ATTENTION  113 

study,   and  constitute  one  of  the   most 
treacherous   pitfalls   of  student   life.     In 
trying  to   avoid   them,   you    must   form 
habits    of    disregarding    irrelevant    ideas 
when   they   try   to   obtrude   themselves. 
And  the  way  to  do  this  is  to  school  your- 
self so  that  the  first  lapse  of  attention  will 
remind  you  of  the  lesson  in  hand.    It  can 
be  done  if  you  keep  yoursel£_sensitive.  to\ 
wanderings  of  attention,  .and  let  the  first] 
slip  from  the  topic  with  which  you  ar< 
engaged  remind  you  to  pull  yourself  back 
Do  this  before  you  have  taken  the  ste 
that  will  carry  you  far  away,  for  with 
each  step  in  the  series  of  associations  it 
becomes  harder  to  draw  yourself  back  into 
the  correct  channel. 

In  reading,  one  frequent  cause  for  lapses 
of  attention  and  for  the  intrusion  of  un- 
welcome ideas  is  obscurity  in  the  material 


being  read.  If  you  trace  back  your  lapses 
of  attention,  you  will  often  find  that  they 
first  occur  when  the  thought  becomes 
difficult  to  follow,  the  sentence  ambiguous, 

7 


114          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

or  a  single  word  unusual.  As  a  result,  the 
meaning  grows  hazy  in  your  mind  and 
you  fail  to  comprehend  it.  Naturally, 
then,  you  drift  into  a  channel  of  thought 
that  is  easier  to  follow.  This  happens 
because  the  mental  stream  tends  to  seek 
channels  of  least  resistance.  If  you  intro- 
spect carefully,  you  will  undoubtedly  dis- 
cover that  many  of  your  annoying  lapses 
of  attention  can  be  traced  to  such  condi- 
tions. The  obvious  remedy  is  to  make 
sure  that  you  understand  everything  as 
you  read.  As  soon  as  you  feel  the  thought 
growing  difficult  to  follow,  begin  to^exeji. 
more^  effortj  consult  the  dictionary  for  the 
meanings  of  Words  you  do  not  understand. 
Probably  the  ordinary  freshman  in  college 
ought  to  look  up  the  meaning  of  as  many 
as  twenty  words  daily. 

Again,  the  thought  may  be  difficult  to 
follow  because  your  previous  knowledge 
is  deficient;  perhaps  the  discussion  in- 
volves some  fact  which  you.  never  ^  did 
comprehend  clearly,  and  you  will  natur- 


CONCENTRATION  OF  ATTENTION    115 

ally  fail  to  understand  something  built 
upon  it.  If  deficiency  of  knowledge  is 
the  cause  of  your  lapses  of  attention,  the 
obvious  remedy  is  to  turn  back  and  study 

J  ':  •-  J  . 

the  fundamental  facts;  to  lay  a  firm  foun- 
dation in  your' subjects  of  study. 

This  discussion  shows  that  the  conditions 
at  time  of  concentrated  attention  are  very 
complex;  that  the  mind  is  full  of  a  number 
of  things;  that  your  object  as  a  student  is  to 
keep  some  one  thing  at  the  focus  of  your 
mind,  and  that  in  doing  so  you  must  con- 
tinuously ignore  other  mental  contents.  In 
our  psychological  descriptions  we  have 
implied  that  the  mind  stands  still  at  times, 
permitting  us  to  take  a  cross-section  and 
examine  it  minutely.  As  a  matter  of  fact, 
the  mind  never  stands  still.  It  continually 
moves  along,  and  at  no  two  moments  is  it 
exactly  the  same.  This  results  in  a  condi- 
tion whereby  an  idea  which  is  at  one  mo- 
ment at  the  centre  cannot  remain  there 
unless  it  takes  on  a  slightly  different  ap- 
pearance from  moment  to  moment.  When 


116          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

you  attempted  to  fix  your  attention  upon 
the  letter  O,  you  found  a  constant  tendency 
to  shift  the  attention,  perhaps  to  a  varia- 
tion in  the  intensity  of  the  type  or  to  a  flaw 
in  the  type  or  in  the  paper.  In  view  of  the 
inevitable  nature  of  these  changes,  you  see 
that  in  spite  of  your  best  efforts  you  cannot 
expect  to  maintain  any  object  of  study 
inflexibly  at  the  centre  of  attention.  The 
way  to  do  is  to  manipulate  the  object  so  that 
it  will  appear  from  moment  to  moment  in  a 
slightly  different  light.  If,  for  example, 
you  are  trying  to  concentrate  upon  a  rule 
of  English  grammar  long  enough  to  mem- 
orize it,  do  not  read  it  over  and  over  again, 
depending  solely  upon  repetition.  A  better 
way,  after  thoroughly  comprehending  it,  is 
to  think  about  it  in  several  relations;  com- 
pare it  with  other  rules,  noting  points  of 
likeness  and  difference;  apply  it  to  the  con- 
struction of  a  sentence.  The  essential 
thing  is  to  do  something  with  it.  Only  thus 
can  you  keep  it  in  the  focus  of  attention. 
This  is  equivalent  to  the  restatement  of 


CONCENTRATION  OF  ATTENTION  117 

another  fact  stressed  in  a  previous  chapter, 
namely,  that  the  mind  is  not  a  passive 
thing  that  stands  still,  but  an  active  thing. 
When  you  give  attention,  you  actively  se- 
lect from  a  number  of  possible  objects  one 
to  be  clearer  than  the  rest.  This  selection 
requires  effort  under  most  conditions  of 
study,  but  you  may  be  cheered  by  the 
thought  that  as  you  develop  interest  in  the 
fields  of  study,  and  as  you  develop  habits 
of  ignoring  distractions,  you  will  be  able  to 
fixate  your  attention  with  less  and  less 
effort.  A  further  important  fact  is  that  as 
you  develop  power  to  select  objects  for  the 
consideration  of  attention,  you  develop 
simultaneously  other  mental  processes— the 
ability  to  memorize,  to  economize  time  and 
effort  and  to  control  future  thoughts  and 
actions.  In  short,  power  to  concentrate 
attention  means  power  in  all  the  mental 
processes. 


CHAPTER  VII 
HOW  WE  REASON 

IF  you  were  asked  to  describe  the  most 
embarrassing  of  your  class-room  experi- 
ences, you  would  probably  cite  the  occa- 
sions when  the  instructor  asks  you  a  series 
of  questions  demanding  close  reasoning. 
As  he  pins  you  down  to  statement  of  facts 
and  forces  you  to  draw  valid  conclusions, 
you  feel  in  a  most  perplexed  frame  of  mind. 
Either  you  find  yourself  unable  to  give  rea- 
sons, or  you  entangle  yourself  in  contradic- 
tions. In  short,  you  flounder  about  help- 
lessly and  feel  as  though  the  bottom  of  your 
ship  of  knowledge  has  dropped  out.  And 
when  the  ordeal  is  over  and  you  have  made 
a  miserable  botch  of  a  recitation  which  you 
thought  you  had  been  perfectly  prepared 
for,  you  complain  that  "if  the  instructor 
had  followed  the  book, "  or  "  if  he  had  asked 

straight  questions,"  you  would  have  an- 
us 


HOW  WE  REASON  119 

swered  every  one  perfectly,  having  mem- 
orized the  lesson  "word  for  word." 

This  complaint,  so  often  voiced  by  stu- 
dents, reveals  the  fundamental  characteris- 
tic which  distinguishes  the  mental  opera- 
tion of  reasoning  from  the  others  we  have 
studied.  In  reasoning  we  face  a  new  kind 
of  situation  presenting  difficulties  not  en- 
countered in  the  simpler  processes  of  sensa- 
tion, memory,  and  imagery,  and  when  we 
attempt  to  substitute  these  simple  processes 
for  reasoning,  we  fail  miserably,  for  the  two 
kinds  of  processes  are  essentially  different, 
and  cannot  be  substituted  one  for  the  other. 

Broadly  speaking,  the  mental  activities 
of  study  may  be  divided  into  two  groups, 
which,  for  want  of  better  names,  we 
shall  call  processes  of  acquisition  and 
processes  of  construction.  The  mental 
attitude  of  the  first  is  that  of  acquire- 
ment. "Sometimes  our  main  business 
seems  to  be  to  acquire  knowledge;  cer- 
tain matters  are  placed  before  us  in 
books  or  by  our  teachers,  and  we  are 


120          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

required  to  master  them,  to  make  them 
part  of  our  stock  of  knowledge.  At  other 
times  we  are  called  upon  to  use  the  knowl- 
edge we  already  possess  in  order  to  attain 
some  end  that  is  set  before  us."  "In 
geography,  for  example,  so  long  as  we  are 
merely  learning  the  bare  facts  of  the  sub- 
ject, the  size  and  contours  of  the  different 
continents,  the  political  divisions,  the 
natural  features,  we  are  at  the  acquisitive 
stage."  "But  when  we  go  on  to  try  to 
find  out  the  reasons  why  certain  facts 
that  we  have  learned  should  be  as  they  are 
and  not  otherwise,  we  pass  to  the  construc- 
tive stage.  We  are  working  constructively 
when  we  seek  to  discover  why  it  is  that 
great  cities  are  so  often  found  on-  the  banks 
of  rivers,  why  peninsulas  more  frequently 
turn  southward  than  northward."  You 
readily  see  that  this  constructive  method 
of  study  involves  the  setting  and  solving 
of  problems  as  its  distinguishing  feature, 
and  that  in  the  solution  of  these  problems 
we  make  use  of  reason. 


HOW  WE  REASON  121 

A  little  reflection  will  show  that  though 
there  is  a  distinct  difference  between  proc- 
esses of  acquisition  and  of  construction, 
nevertheless  the  two  must  not  be  regarded 
as  entirely  separate  from  each  other.  "In 
acquiring  new  facts  we  must  always  use  a 
little  reason,  while  in  constructive  work, 
we  cannot  always  rely  upon  having  all 
the  necessary  matter  ready  to  hand.  We 
have  frequently  to  stop  our  constructive 
work  for  a  little  in  order  to  acquire  some 
new  facts  that  we  find  to  be  necessary. 
Thus  we  acquire  a  certain  number  of  new 
facts  while  we  are  reasoning  about  things, 
and  while  we  are  engaged  in  acquiring 
new  matter  we  must  use  our  reason  at  least 
to  some  small  extent."  The  two  overlap, 
then.  But  there  is  a  difference  between 
them  from  the  standpoint  of  the  student, 
and  the  terms  denote  two  fundamentally 
different  attitudes  which  students  take  in 
study.  The  two  attitudes  may  be  illus- 
trated by  contrasting  the  two  methods  often 
used  in  studying  geometry.  Some  stu- 


122         HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

dents  memorize  the  theorem  and  the  steps 
in  the  demonstration,  reciting  them  ver- 
batim at  class-hour.  Others  do  not  memo- 
rize, but  reason  out  each  step  to  see  its 
relation  to  the  preceding  step,  and  when 
they  see  it  must  necessarily  follow,  they 
pass  on  to  the  next  and  do  the  same. 
These  two  types  of  students  apparently 
arrive  at  the  same  conclusions,  but  the 
mental  operations  leading  up  to  the  Q.  E. 
D.  of  each  are  vastly  different.  The  one 
student  does  his  studying  by  the  rote 
memory  method,  the  other  by  the  road  of 
reasoning.  The  former  road  is  usually 
considered  the  easier,  and  so  we  find  it 
most  frequently  followed.  To  memorize 
a  table,  a  definition,  or  a  series  of  dates  is 
relatively  easy.  One  knows  exactly  where 
one  is,  and  can  keep  track  of  one's  progress 
and  test  one's  success.  Some  people  are 
attracted  by  such  a  task  and  are  perfectly 
happy  to  follow  this  plan  of  study.  The 
kind  of  mind  that  contents  itself  with  such 
phonographic  records,  however,  must  be 


HOW  WE  REASON  123 

acknowledged  to  be  a  commonplace  sort 
of  affair.  We  recognize  its  limitations  in 
ordinary  life,  invariably  rating  it  lower 
than  the  mind  that  can  reason  to  new 
conclusions  and  work  independently.  Ac- 
cordingly, if  we  wish  to  possess  minds  of 
superior  quality,  we  see  that  we  must 
develop  the  reasoning  processes. 

When  we  examine  the  mental  processes 
by  which  we  think  constructively,  or,  in 
other  words,  reason,  we  find  first  of  all 
that  there  is  recognition  of  a  problem  to 
be  solved.  When  we  start  to  reason,  we 
do  it  because  we  find  ourselves  in  a  situa- 
tion from  which  we  must  extricate  our- 
selves. The  situation  may  be  physical, 
as  when  our  automobile  stops  suddenly 
on  a  country  road;  or  it  may  be  mental,  as 
when  we  are  deciding  what  college  to 
attend.  In  both  cases,  we  recognize  that 
we  are  facing  a  problem  which  must  be 
solved. 

After  recognition  of  the  problem,  our 
next  step  is  to  start  vigorous  efforts  to 


124          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

solve  it.  In  doing  this,  we  cast  about  for 
means;  we  summon  all  the  powers  at  our 
disposal.  In  the  case  of  the  automobile, 
we  call  to  mind  other  accidents  and  the 
causes  of  them;  we  remember  that  once 
the  spark-plug  played  out,  so  we  test  this 
hypothesis.  At  another  time  some  dust 
got  into  the  carburetor,  so  we  test  this. 
So  we  go  on,  calling  up  possible  causes 
and  applying  appropriate  remedies  until 
the  right  one  is  found  and  the  engine  is 
started.  In  bringing  to  bear  upon  the 
problem  facts  from  our  past  experience, 
we  form  a  series  of  judgments.  In  the  case 
of  the  problem  as  to  what  college  to 
attend,  we  might  form  these  judgments: 
this  college  is  nearer  home;  that  one  has  a 
celebrated  faculty;  this  one  has  good  labo- 
ratories; that  one  is  my  father's  alma 
mater.  So  we  might  go  on,  bringing  up 
all  the  facts  regarding  the  problem  and 
fitting  each  one  mentally  to  see  how  it 
works.  Note  that  this  utilization  of  ideas 
should  not  consist  merely  of  fumbling 


HOW  WE  REASON  125 

about  in  a  vague  hope  of  hitting  upon 
some  solution.  It  must  be  a  systematic 
search,  guided  by  carefully  chosen  ideas. 
For  example,  "if  the  clock  on  the  mantle- 
piece  has  stopped,  and  we  have  no  idea 
how  to  make  it  go  again,  but  mildly  shake 
it  in  the  hope  that  something  will  happen 
to  set  it  going,  we  are  merely  fumbling. 
But  if,  on  moving  the  clock  gently  so  as 
to  set  the  pendulum  in  motion,  we  hear 
it  wobbling  about  irregularly,  and  at  the 
same  time  observe  that  there  is  no  ticking 
of  any  kind,  we  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  pendulum  has  somehow  or  other 
escaped  the  little  catch  that  connects  it 
with  the  mechanism,  we  have  been  really 
thinking.  From  the  fact  that  the  pen- 
dulum wobbles  irregularly,  we  infer  that 
it  has  lost  its  proper  catch.  From  the 
fact  that  there  is  no  ticking,  we  infer  the 
same  thing,  for  even  when  there  is  some- 
thing wrong  with  the  clock  that  will  pre- 
vent it  from  going  permanently,  if  the 
pendulum  is  set  in  motion  by  force  from 


126          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

without  it  will  tick  for  a  few  seconds  before 
it  comes  to  rest  again.  The  important 
point  to  observe  is  that  there  must  be 
inference.  This  is  always  indicated  by 
the  word  therefore  or  its  equivalent.  If 
you  reach  a  conclusion  without  having 
to  use  or  at  any  rate  to  imply  a  therefore, 
you  may  take  it  for  granted  that  you 
have  not  been  really  thinking,  but  only 
jumping  to  conclusions. " 

This  process  of  putting  facts  in  the  form 
of  judgments  and  drawing  inferences,  may 
be  likened  to  a  court-room  scene  where 
arguments  are  presented  to  the  judge.  As 
each  bit  of  evidence  is  submitted,  it  is 
subjected  to  the  test  of  its  applicability 
to  the  situation  or  to  similar  situations  in 
the  past.  It  is  rigidly  examined  and 
nothing  is  accepted  as  a  candidate  for  the 
solution  until  it  is  found  by  trial  (of  course, 
in  imagination)  to  be  pertinent  to  the 
situation. 

The  third  stage  of  the  reasoning  process 
comes  when  some  plan  which  has  been 


HOW  WE  REASON  127 

suggested  as  a  possible  solution  of  the 
difficulty  proves  effective,  and  we  make 
the  decision;  the  arguments  support  or 
overthrow  each  other,  adding  to  and 
eliminating  various  considerations  until 
finally  only  one  course  appears  possible. 
As  we  said  before,  the  solution  comes 
inevitably,  as  represented  by  the  word 
therefore.  Little  active  work  on  our  part 
is  necessary,  for  if  we  have  gone  through 
these  other  phases  properly  the  decision 
will  make  itself.  You  cannot  make  a  wrong 
decision  if  you  have  the  facts  before  you 
and  have  given  each  the  proper  weight. 
When  the  solution  comes,  it  is  recognized 
as  right,  for  it  comes  tinged  with  a  feeling 
that  we  call  belief. 

Now  that  we  have  found  the  reasoning 
process  to  be  one  of  problem-solving,  of 
which  the  first  step  is  to  acknowledge  and 
recognize  the  difficulty,  the  second,  to  call 
up  various  methods  of  solution,  and  the 
third,  to  decide  on  the  basis  of  one  of  the 
solutions  that  comes  tinged  with  certainty, 


128          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

we  are  ready  to  apply  this  schema  to  study 
in  the  hope  that  we  may  discover  the  causes 
and  remedies  for  the  reasoning  difficulties 
of  students.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  rea- 
soning starts  out  with  a  problem,  you  see  at 
once  that  to  make  your  study  effective  you 
must  study  in  problems.  Avoid  an  habit- 
ual attitude  of  mere  acquisition.  Do  not 
memorize  facts  in  the  same  pattern  as  they 
are  handed  out  to  you.  In  history,  in  gen- 
eral literature,  in  science,  do  not  read  facts 
merely  as  they  come  in  the  text,  but  seek 
the  relations  between  them.  Voluntarily 
set  before  yourself  intellectual  problems. 
Ask  yourself,  why  is  this  so?  In  other 
words,  in  your  study  do  not  merely  acquire, 
but  also  construct.  The  former  makes  use 
mostly  of  memory  and  though  your  mem- 
orizing be  done  ever  so  conscientiously,  if 
it  comprise  the  main  part  of  your  study, 
you  fail  to  utilize  your  mind  to  its  fullest 
extent. 

Let  us  now  consider  the  second  stage  of 
the  reasoning  process  as  found  in  study. 


HOW  WE  REASON  129 

At  this  stage  the  facts  in  the  mind  are 
brought  forward  for  the  purpose  of  being 
fitted  into  the  present  situation,  and  the 
essential  thing  is  that  you  have  a  large 
number  of  facts  at  your  disposal.  If  you 
are  going  to  reason  effectively  about  prob- 
lems in  history,  mathematics,  geography, 
it  is  absolutely  indispensable  that  you  know 
many  facts  about  the  subjects.  One  reason 
why  you  experience  difficulty  in  reasoning 
about  certain  subjects  is  that  you  do  not 
know  enough  about  them.  Particularly  is 
this  true  in  such  subjects  as  political  econ- 
omy, sociology  and  psychology.  The  re- 
sults of  such  ignorance  are  often  demon- 
strated in  political  and  social  movements. 
Why  do  the  masses  so  easily  fall  victims  to 
doubtful  reforms  in  national  and  municipal 
policies?  Because  they  do  not  know 
enough  about  these  matters  to  reason  in- 
telligently. Watch  ignorant  people  listen- 
ing to  a  demagogue  and  see  what  unreason- 
able things  they  accept.  The  speaker  pro- 
pounds a  question  and  then  proceeds  to 


130          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

answer  it  in  his  own  way.  He  makes  it 
appear  plausible,  assuring  his  hearers  it  is 
the  only  way,  and  they  agree  because  they 
do  not  have  enough  other  facts  at  their 
command  to  refute  it.  They  are  unable,  as 
we  say,  to  see  the  situation  in  several 
aspects.  The  mistakes  in  reasoning  which 
children  make  have  a  similar  basis.  The 
child  reaches  for  the  moon,  reasoning — 
"Here  is  something  bright;  I  can  touch 
most  bright  things;  therefore,  I  can  touch 
this. "  His  reasoning  is  fallacious  because 
he  does  not  have  all  the  facts.  This  con- 
dition is  paralleled  in  the  class-room  when 
students  make  what  are  shamefacedly 
looked  back  upon  as  miserable  blunders. 
When  one  of  these  fiascos  occurs  the  cause 
can  many  times  be  referred  to  the  fact  that 
the  student  did  not  have  enough  facts  at 
his  command.  Speaking  broadly,  the  most 
effective  reasoning  in  a  field  can  be  done  by 
one  who  has  had  the  most  extensive  expe- 
riences in  that  field.  If  one  had  complete 
acquaintance  with  all  facts,  one  would  have 


HOW  WE  REASON  131 

perfect  conditions  for  reasoning.  Thus  w.e 
see  that  effectiveness  in  reasoning  demands 
an  extensive  array  of  facts.  Accordingly, 
in  your  courses  of  study  you  must  read  with 
avidity.  When  you  are  given.a  list  of  read- 
ings in  a  course,  some  of  which  are  required 
and  some  optional,  read  both  sets,  and 
every  new  fact  thus  secured  will  make  you 
better  able  to  reason  in  the  field. 

But  good  reasoning  demands  more  than 
mere  quantity  of  ideas.  The  ideas  must 
conform  to  certain  qualitative  standards 
before  they  may  be  effectively  employed 
in  reasoning.  They  must  arise  with 
promptness,  in  an  orderly  manner,  perti- 
nent to  the  matter  in  hand,  and  they 
must  be  clear.  In  securing  promptness 
of  association  on.  the  part  of  your  ideas, 
employ  the  methods  described  in  the 
chapter  on  memory.  Make  many  logical 
associations  with  clearness  and  repetition. 
In  order  to  insure  the  rise  of  ideas  in  an 
orderly  manner,  pay  attention  to  the 
manner  in  which  you  acquire  them. 


182          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

Remember,  things  will  be  recalled  as  they 
were  impressed,  so  the  value  of  your  ideas 
in  reasoning  will  depend  upon  the  manner 
hi  which  you  make  original  impressions. 
A  further  characteristic  of  serviceable 
ideas  is  clarity.  Ideas  are  sometimes 
described"  as  ' 'clear ' '  in  opposition  to 
"muddy."  You  know  what  is  meant  by 
these  distinctions,  and  you  may  be  assured 
that  one  cause  for  your  failures  in  reasoning 
is  that  your  ideas  are  not  clear.  This 
manifests  itself  in  inability  to  make  clear 
statements  and  to  comprehend  clearly. 
The  latter  condition  is  easily  illustrated. 
When  you  began  the  study  of  geometry 
you  faced  a  multitude  of  new  terms;  we 
call  them  technical  terms,  such  as  projec- 
tion, scalene,  theory  of  limits.  These  had 
to  be  clearly  understood  before  you  could 
reason  in  the  subject.  And  when,  in  the 
progress  of  your  study,  you  experienced 
difficulty  in  reasoning  out  problems,  it 
was  very  likely  due  to  the  fact  that  you 
did  not  master  the  technical  terms,  and 


HOW  WE  REASON  15$ 

as  soon  as  you  encountered  the  difficulties 
of  the  course,  you  failed  because  your 
foundation  laying  did  not  involve  the 
acquisition  of  clear  ideas.  Examine  your 
difficulties  in  reasoning  subjects  and  if 
you  find  them  traceable  to  vagueness  of 
ideas,  take  steps  to  clarify  them. 

Ideas  may  be  clarified  in  two  ways:  by 
definition  and  by  classification.  Defi- 
nition is  a  familiar  device,  for  you  have 
had  much  to  do  with  it  in  learning.  The 
memorization  of  definitions  is  an  excellent 
practice,  not  as  an  end  in  itself,  but  as  a 
means  to  the  end  of  effective  reasoning. 
Throughout  your  study,  then,  pay  much 
attention  to  definitions.  Some  you  will 
find  in  your  texts,  but  others  you  will 
have  to  make  for  yourself.  In  order  to  get 
practice  in  this,  undertake  the  manufac- 
ture of  a  few  definitions,  using  terms  such 
as  charity,  benevolence,  natural  selection. 
This  exercise  will  reveal  what  an  exacting 
mental  operation  definition  is  and  will  prove 
how  vague  most  of  your  thinking  really  is. 


134          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

A  large  stock  of  definitions  will  help 
you  to  think  rapidly.  Standing  as  they 
do  for  a  large  group  of  experiences,  defi- 
nitions are  a  means  of  mental  economy. 
For  illustration  of  their  service  in  reason- 
ing, suppose  you  were  asked  to  compare 
the  serf,  the  peon  and  the  American  slave. 
If  you  have  a  clean-cut  definition  of  each 
of  these  terms,  you  can  readily  differentiate 
between  them,  but  if  you  cannot  define 
them,  you  will  hardly  be  able  to  reason 
concerning  them. 

The  second  means  of  clarifying  ideas  is 
classification.  By  this  is  meant  the  proc- 
ess of  grouping  similar  ideas  or  similar  points 
of  ideas.  For  example,  your  ideas  of  serf, 
peon  and  slave  have  some  points  in  common. 
Group  the  ideas,  then,  with  reference  to 
these  points.  Then  in  reasoning  you  can 
quickly  place  an  idea  in  its  proper  group. 

The  third  stage  of  the  reasoning  process 
is  decision,  based  on  belief,  and  it  comes 
inevitably,  provided  the  other  two  proc- 
esses have  been  performed  rightly.  Ac- 


HOW  WE  REASON  135 

cordingly,  we  need  say  little  about  its  place 
in  study.  One  caution  should  be  pointed 
out  in  making  decisions.  Do  not  make 
them  hastily  on  the  basis  of  only  one  or 
two  facts.  Wait  until  you  have  canvassed 
all  the  ideas  that  bear  importantly  upon 
the  case.  The  masses  that  listen  too 
eagerly  to  the  demagogue  <}o  not  err 
merely  from  lack'  of  ideas,  but  partly  be- 
cause they  do  not  utilize  all  the  facts  at 
their  disposal.  This  fault  is  frequently 
discernible  in  impulsive  people,  who  noto- 
riously make  snap-judgments,  which  means 
that  they  decide  before  canvassing  all  the 
evidence.  This  trait  marks  the  funda- 
mental difference  between  superficial  and 
profound  thinkers.  The  former  accept  sur- 
face facts  and  decide  immediately,  while 
the  latter  refuse  to  decide  until  after 
canvassing  many  facts. 

In  the  improvement  of  reasoning  ability 
your  task  is  mainly  one  of  habit  forma- 
tion. It  is  necessary,  first,  to  form  the 
habit  of  stating  things  in  the  form  of 


136          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

problems;  second,  to  form  habits  by  which 
ideas  arise  promptly  and  profusely;  third, 
/  to  form  habits  of  reserving  decisions  until 
the  important  facts  are  in.  These  are  all 
specific  habits  that  must  be  built  up  if 
the  reasoning  processes  of  the  mind  are  to 
be  effective.  Already  you  have  formed 
some  habits,  "if  not  habits  of  careful 
looking  into  things,  then  habits  of  hasty, 
heedless,  impatient  glancing  over  the  sur- 
face; if  not  habits  of  consecutively  follow- 
ing up  the  suggestions  that  occur,  then 
habits  of  haphazard,  grass-hopper-like 
guessing;  if  not  habits  of  suspending  judg- 
ment until  inferences  have  been  tested  by 
the  examination  of  evidence,  then  habits 
of  credulity  alternating  with  flippant  in- 
credulity, belief  or  unbelief  being  based 
hi  either  case  upon  whim,  emotion  or 
accidental  circumstances.  The  only  way 
to  achieve  traits  of  carefulness,  thorough- 
ness, and  continuity  ...  is  by  exer- 
cising these  traits  from  the  beginning,  and 
by  seeing  to  it  that  conditions  call  for 


HOW  WE  REASON  187 

their  exercise."  Apply  the  principles  of 
habit  formation  already  enunciated,  and 
remember  that  with  every  act  of  reasoning 
you  perform,  you  are  moulding  yourself  into 
a  careless  reasoner  or  an  accurate  reasoner, 
into  a  clear  thinker  or  a  muddy  thinker. 
This  chapter  shows  that  reasoning  is 
one  of  the  highest  powers  of  man.  It  is  a 
mark  of  originality  and  intelligence,  and 
stamps  its  possessor  not  a  copier  but  an 
originator,  not  a  follower  but  a  leader, 
not  a  slave,  to  have  his  thinking  foisted 
upon  him  by  others,  but  a  free  and  inde- 
pendent intellect,  unshackled  by  the  bonds 
of  ignorance  and  convention.  The  man 
who  employs  reason  in  acquiring  knowl- 
edge, finds  delights  in  study  that  are 
denied  to  a  rote  memorizer.  When  one 
looks  at  the  world  through  glasses  of 
reason,  inquiring  into  the  eternal  why,  then 
facts  ta£e  on  a  new  meaning,  knowledge 
comes  with  new  power,  the  facts  of  expe- 
rience glow  with  vitality,  and  one's  own 
relations  with  them  appear  in  a  new  light. 


CHAPTER  VIII 
EXPRESSION  AS  AN  AID  IN  LEARNING 

IN  our  discussion  of  the  nervous  basis 
underlying  study  we  observed  that  nerve 
pathways  are  affected  not  only  by  what 
enters  over  the  sensory  pathways,  but  also 
by  what  flows  out  over  the  motor  path- 
ways. As  the  nerve  currents  travel  out 
from  the  motor  centres  in  the  brain  to 
the  muscles,  they  leave  traces  which  modify 
future  thoughts  and  actions.  This  being 
so,  it  is  easy  to  see  that  what  we  give  out 
is  fully  as  important  as  what  we  take  in;  in 
other  words,  our  expressions  are  just  as 
important  as  our  impressions.  By  expres- 
sions we  mean  the  motor  consequences  of 
our  thoughts,  and  in  study  they  usually 
take  the  form  of  speech  and  writing  of  a 
kind  to  be  specified  later. 

The  far-reaching  effects  of  motor  expres- 
sions are  too  infrequently  emphasized,  but 

138 


EXPRESSION  AS  AID  IN  LEARNING  139 

psychology  forces  us  to  give  them  prime 
consideration.  We  are  first  apprised  of  their 
importance  when  we  study  the  nervous 
system,  and  find  that  every  incoming  sen- 
sory message  pushes  on  and  on  until  it 
finds  a  motor  pathway  over  which  it  may 
travel  and  produce  movement.  This  is 
inevitable.  The  verystructure  and  arrange- 
ment of  the  neurones  is  such  that  we  are 
obliged  to  make  some  movement  in  re- 
sponse to  objects  affecting  our  sense 
organs.  The  extent  of  movement  may 
vary  from  the  wide-spread  tremors  that 
occur  when  we  are  frightened  by  a  thunder- 
storm to  the  merest  flicker  of  an  eye-lash. 
But  whatever  be  its  extent,  movement 
invariably  occurs  when  we  are  stimulated 
by  some  object.  This  has  been  demon- 
strated in  startling  ways  in  the  psycho- 
logical laboratory,  where  even  so  simple 
a  thing  as  a  piece  of  figured  wall-paper  has 
been  shown  to  produce  measurable  bodily 
disturbances.  Ordinarily  we  do  not  notice 
these  because  they  are  so  slight,  some- 


140          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

times  being  merely  twitches  of  deep-seated 
muscles  or  slight  enlargements  or  contrac- 
tions of  arteries  which  are  very  responsive 
to  nerve  currents.  But  no  matter  how 
large  or  how  small,  we  may  be  sure  that 
movements  always  occur  on  the  excitation 
of  a  sense  organ.  This  led  us  to  assert  in 
an  earlier  chapter  that  the  function  of 
the  nervous  system  is  to  convert  incoming 
sensory  currents  into  outgoing  motor 
currents. 

So  ingrained  is  this  tendency  toward 
movement  that  we  do  not  need  even  a 
sensory  cue  to  start  it  off;  an  idea  will  do 
as  well.  In  other  words,  the  nervous  cur- 
rent need  not  start  at  a  sense  organ,  but 
may  start  in  the  brain  and  still  produce 
movement.  This  fact  is  embodied  in  the 
law  of  ideo-motor  action  (distinguished 
from  sensory-motor  action),  ^eyerxJdea. 
in  the  mind  tends  to  express  itself  in  move- 
ment. "  This  motor  character  of  ideas  is 
manifested  in  a  most  thorough-going  way 
and  renders  our  muscular  system  a  faith- 


EXPRESSION  AS  AID  IN  LEARNING  141 

ful  mirror  of  our  thoughts.  We  have  in 
the  psychological  laboratory  delicate  ap- 
paratus which  enables  us  to  measure  many 
of  these  slight  movements.  For  example, 
we  fasten  a  recording  device  to  the  top  of 
a  person's  head,  so  that  his  slightest  move- 
ments will  be  recorded,  then  we  ask  him 
while  standing  perfectly  still  to  think  of 
an  object  at  his  right  side.  After  several 
moments  the  record  shows  that  he  involun- 
tarily leans  in  the  direction  of  the  object 
about  which  he  is  thinking.  We  find 
further  illustration  of  this  law  when  we 
examine  people  as  they  read,  for  they  in- 
voluntarily accompany  the  reading  with 
movements  of  speech,  measurable  in  the 
muscles  of  the  throat,  the  tongue  and  the 
lips.  These  facts,  and  many  others,  con- 
stitute good  evidence  for  the  statement 
that  ideas  seek  expression  in  movement. 

The  ethical  consequences  of  this  are  so 
momentous  that  we  must  remark  upon 
them  in  passing.  We  now  see  the  force 
of  the  biblical  statement,  "Not  that  which 


142          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

entereth  into  the  mouth  defileth  the  man; 
but  that  which  proceedeth  out  of  the 
mouth,  this  defileth  the  man."  Think 
what  it  means  to  one's  character  that  every 

^HHI^HHIHHM 

thought  harbored  in  the  mind  is  bound  to 
come  out.  It  may  not  manifest  itself  at 
once  in  overt  action,  but  it  affects  the 
motor  pathways  and  either  weakens  or 
strengthens  connections  so  that  when  the 
opportunity  comes,  some  act  will  be  fur- 
thered or  hindered.  In  view  of  the  prone- 
ness  to  permit  base  thoughts  to  enter  the 
mind,  human  beings  might  sometimes  fear 
even  to  think.  A  more  optimistic  idea, 
however,  is  that  noble  thoughts  lead  to 
noble  acts.  Therefore,  keep  in  your  mind 
"the  kind  of  thoughts  that  you  wish  to  see 
actualized  in  your  character  and  the  appro- 
priate acts  will  follow  of  their  own  accord. 
But  it  is  with  the  significance  of  expres- 
sions in  study  that  we  are  at  present  con- 
cerned, and  here  we  find  them  of  supreme 
importance.  We  ordinarily  regard  learning 
as  a  process  of  taking  things  into  the  mind, 


EXPRESSION  AS  AID  IN  LEARNING  143 

and  regard  expression  as  a  thing  apart 
from  acquisition  of  knowledge.  We  shall 
find  in  this  discussion,  however,  that  there 
is  no  such  sharp  demarcation  between 
acquiring  knowledge  and  expressing  knowl- 
edge, but  that  the  two  are  intimately  bound 
together,  expressions  being  properly  a  part 
of  wise  and  economical  learning. 

When  we  survey  the  modes  of  expression 
that  may  be  used  in  study,  we  find  them  to 
be  of  several  kinds.  Speech  is  one.  This 
is  the  form  of  expression  for  which  the 
class-recitation  is  provided.  If  you  wish  to 
grow  as  a  student,  utilize  the  recitation 
period  and  welcome  every  chance  to  recite 
orally,  for  things  about  which  you  recite  in 
class  are  more  effectively  learned.  JTaJ&iag 
about  a  subject  under  all  circumstances 
will  help  you  learn.  When  studying  sub- 
jects like  political  economy,  sociology  or 
psychology,  seize  every  opportunity  to  talk 
over  the  questions  involved.  Hold  fre- 
quent conferences  with  your  instructor; 
voice  your  difficulties  freely,  and  the  very 


144          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

effort  to  state  them  will  help  to  clarify 
them.  It  is  a  good  plan  for  two  students  in 
the  same  course  to  come  together  and  talk 
over  the  problems;  the  debates  thus  stimu- 
lated and  the  questions  aroused  by  mental 
interaction  are  very  helpful  in  impressing 
facts  more  vividly  upon  the  mind. 

Writing  is  a  form  of  expression  and  is  one 
tiling  that  gives  value  to  note-taking  and 
examinations.  Its  value  is  further  recog- 
nized by  the  requirements  of  themes  and 
term-papers.  These  are  all  mediums  by 
which  you  may  develop  yourself,  and  they 
merit  your  earnest  cooperation. 

Another  medium  of  expression  that  stu- 
dents may  profitably  employ  is  drawing. 
This  is  especially  valuable  in  such  subjects 
as  geology,  physiology  and  botany.  Stu- 
dents in  botany  are  compelled  to  do  much 
drawing  of  the  plant-forms  which'  they 
study,  and  this  is  a  wise  requirement,  for  it 
makes  them  observe  more  carefully,  report 
more  faithfully  and  recall  with  greater  ease. 
You  may  secure  the  same  advantages  by 


EXPRESSION  AS  AID  IN  LEARNING  145 

employing  the  graphic  method  in  other 
studies.  For  example,  when  reading  in  a 
geology  text-book  about  the  stratification 
'of  the  earth  in  a  certain  region,  draw  the 
parts  described  and  label  them  according 
to  the  description.  You  will  be  surprised 
to  see  how  clear  the  description  becomes 
and  how  easily  it  is  later  recalled. 

Let  us  examine  the  effects  of  the  expres- 
sive movements  of  speech,  writing  and  the 
like,  and  see  the  mechanism  by  which  they 
facilitate  the  study  process.  We  may  de- 
scribe their  effects  in  two  ways:  neurologic- 
ally  and  psychologically.  As  may  be  ex- 
pected from  our  preliminary  study  of  the 
nervous  system,  we  see  their  first  effects 
upon  the  motor  pathways  leading  out  to 
the  muscles.  Each  passage  of  the  nerve 
current  from  brain  to  muscle  leaves  traces 
so  that  the  resulting  act  is  performed  with 
greater  ease  upon  each  repetition.  This 
fact  has  already  been  emphasized  by  the 
warning,  Guard  the  avenues  of  expression. 
Especially  is  it  important  at  the  first  per- 


146          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

formance  of  an  act,  because  this  determines 
the  path  of  later  performances.  In  such 
studies  as  piano-playing,  vocalizing  and 
pronunciation  of  foreign  words,  see  that 
your  first  performance  is  absolutely  right, 
then  as  the  expressive  movements  are  re- 
peated, they  will  be  more  firmly  ingrained 
because  of  the  deepening  of  the  motor 
pathways. 

The  next  effect  of  acts  of  expression  is  to 
be  found  in  the  modifications  made  in  the 
sensory  areas  of  the  brain.  You  will  recall 
that  every  movement  of  a  muscle  produces 
nervous  currents  which  go  back  to  the 
brain  and  register  there  in  the  form  of  kin- 
sesthetic  sensations.  To  demonstrate  kin- 
aesthetic  sensations,  close  your  eyes  and 
move  your  index  finger  up  and  down.  You 
can  feel  the  muscles  contracting  and  the 
tendons  moving  back  ^nd  forth,  even  into 
the  back  of  the  hand.  These  sensations 
ordinarily  escape  our  attention,  but  they 
occupy  a  prominent  place  in  the  control  of 
our  actions.  For  example,  when  ascending 


EXPRESSION  AS  AID  IN  LEARNING  147 

familiar  stairs  in  the  dark,  they  notify  us 
when  we  have  reached  the  top.  We  are  still 
further  impressed  with  their  importance 
when  we  are  deprived  of  them;  when  we  try 
to  walk  upon  a  foot  or  a  leg  that  has  gone 
"to  sleep";  that  is,  when  the  kinsesthetic 
nerves  are  temporarily  paralyzed  we  find  it 
difficult  to  walk.  But  besides  being  used  to 
control  muscular  actions,  they  may  be  used 
in  study,  for  they  may  be  made  the  source 
of  impressions,  and  impressions,  as  we 

.  ^ n****' 

learned  in  the  chapter  on  memory,  are  a 
prime  requisite  for  learning.  Each  expres- 
sion becomes,  then,  through  its  kinaesthetic 
results,  the  source  of  new  impressions, 
when,  for  example,  you  pronounce  the 
German  word,  anwenden,  with  the  English 
word  "to  employ,"  in  addition  to  the 
impressions  made  through  the  ear,  you 
make  impressions  through  the  muscles  of 
speech  (kinaesthetic  impressions),  and 
these  kinaesthetic  impressions  enter  into 
the  body  of  your  knowledge  and  later  may 
serve  as  the  means  by  which  the  word  may 


148          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

be  revived.  When  you  write  the  word,  you 
make  kinsesthetic  impressions  which  may 
later  serve  as  forms  of  revival.  So  the 
movements  of  expression  produce  sensory 
material  that  may  serve  as  tentacles  by 
means  of  which  you  can  later  reach  back 
into  your  memory  and  recall  facts. 

We  shall  now  consider  another  service 
of  expressions  which,  though  little  regarded, 
nevertheless  is  of  much  moment.  When  we 
make  expressive  movements,  much  ner- 
vous energy  is  generated;  much  more  than 
during  passive  impression.  Energy  is  sent 
back  to  the  brain  over  the  kinaesthetic 
nerve  cells,  and  the  greater  the  extent  of 
the  movement,  the  greater  is  the  amount 
of  new  energy  sent  to  the  brain.  It  pours 
into  the  brain  and  diffuses  itself  especially 
throughout  the  association  areas.  Here 
it  excites  regions  which  could  not  be  excited 
by  a  more  limited  amount  of  energy.  This 
means,  in  psychical  terms,  that  new  ideas 
are  being  aroused.  The  obvious  inference 
from  this  fact  is  that  you  may,  by  starting 


EXPRESSION  AS  AID  IN  LEARNING    149 

movements  of  expression,  actually  sum- 
mon to  your  assistance  added  powers  of 
mind.  For  example,  when  you  are  called 
upon  to  recite  in  class,  your  mind  seems  to 
be  a  complete  blank — in  a  state  of  "  dead- 
lock." You  may  break  this  "deadlock" 
and  start  brain-action  by  some  kind  of 
movement.  It  may  be  only  to  clear  your 
throat,  to  ejaculate  "well,"  or  to  squirm 
about  in  the  seat,  but  whatever  form  the 
movement  takes,  it  will  usually  be  effective 
in  creating  the  desired  nervous  energy,  and 
after  the  inertia  is  once  overcome  the  men- 
tal stream  will  flow  freely.  The  uncon- 
scious application  of  this  device  is  seen 
when  a  man  is  called  on  suddenly  to  make 
a  speech  for  which  he  has  not  prepared. 
He  usually  starts  out  by  telling  a  story, 
thus  liberating  nervous  energy  to  pour 
back  into  the  brain  and  start  thinking 
processes.  With  increasing  vehemence  of 
expression,  the  ideas  come  more  and  more 
freely,  and  the  result  is  a  speech  which 
surpasses  the  expectations  of  the  speaker 


150          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

himself.  The  gesticulations  of  many 
speakers  have  this  same  function,  being 
frequently  of  great  service  in  arousing  more 
nervous  energy,  which  goes  back  to  the 
brain  and  arouses  more  ideas. 

The  device  of  stimulating  ideas  by  ex- 
pressive movements  may  be  utilized  in 
theme-  or  letter-writing.  It  is  generally 
recognized  that  the  difficult  thing  in  such 
writing  is  to  got  a  start,  and  the  too  com- 
mon practice  is  to  sit  listlessly  gazing  into 
space  waiting  for  "inspiration."  TJbis_  is 
.usually  a  futile  procedure.  The  better  way 
is  to  begin  to  write  anything  about  the 
topic  in  hand.  What  you  write  may  have 
little  merit,  either  of  substance  or  form. 
Nevertheless,  if  you  persist  in  keeping  up  the 
activity  of  writing,  making  more  and  more 
movements,  you  will  find  that  the  ideas  will 
begin  to  come  in  greater  profusion  until  they 
come  so  fast  you  can  hardly  write  them  down . 

Having  tried  to  picture  the  neural  effect 
of  expression,  we  may  now  translate  them 
into  psychological  terms,  asking  what  ser- 


EXPRESSION  AS  AID  IN  LEARNING  151 

vice  the  expressions  render  to  the  conscious 
side  of  our  study.  First  of  all,  we  note 
that  the  expressions  help  to  make  the  acts 
and  ideas  in  study  habitual.  We  find  our- 
selves, with  each  expression,  better  able  to 
perform  such  acts  as  the  pronunciation  of 
foreign  words.  Second,  they  furnish  new 
impressions  through  the  kinaesthetic  sense, 
thus  being  a  source  of  sense-impression. 
Third,  they  give  rise  to  a  greater  number 
of  ideas  and  link  them  up  with  the  idea 
dominant  at  the  moment.  There  is  a 
further  psychological  effect  of  expression 
in  the  clarification  of  ideas.  It  is  a  well- 
attested  fact  that  when  we  attempt  to 
explain  a  thing  to  someone  else,  it  becomes 
clearer  in  our  own  minds.  You  can  demon- 
strate this  for  yourself  by  attempting  to 
explain  to  someone  an  intricate  conception 
such  as  the  nebular  hypothesis.  The  effort 
involved  in  making  the  explanation  makes 
the  fact  more  vivid  to  you.  The  habit  of 
thus  utilizing  your  knowledge  in  conversa- 
tion is  an  excellent  one  to  acquire.  Indeed, 


152          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

expression  is  the  only  objective  test  of 
knowledge  and  we  cannot  say  that  we 
really  know  until  we  can  express  our  knowl- 
edge. Expression  is  thus  the  great  clari- 
fication agency  and  the  test  of  knowledge. 

Before  leaving  this  discussion,  it  might 
be  well  to  remark  upon  one-  phase  of  ex- 
pression that  is  sometimes  a  source  of  diffi- 
culty. This  is  the  embarrassment  inci- 
dent to  some  forms  of  expression,  notably 
oral.  Many  people  are  deterred  from  util- 
izing this  form  of  expression  because  of  shy- 
ness and  embarrassment  in  the  presence  of 
others.  If  you  have  this  difficulty  in  such 
excess  that  it  hinders  you  from  free  expres- 
sion, resolve  at  once  to  overcome  it.  Begin 
at  the  very  outset  of  your  academic  career 
to  form  habits  of  disregarding  your  im- 
pulses to  act  in  frightened  manner.  Take 
a  course  in  public  speaking.  _  The  practice 
thus  secured  will  be  a  great  aid  in  devel- 
oping habits  of  fearless  and  free  oral 
expression. 

This  discussion  has  shown  that  expres- 


EXPRESSION  AS  AID  IN  LEARNING   153 

sion  is  a  powerful  aid  in  learning,  and  is  a 
most  important  feature  of  mental  life.  Cul- 
tivate your  powers  of  expression,  for  your 
college  education  should  consist  not  only  in 
the  development  of  habits  of  impression, 
but  also  in  the  development  of  habits  of 
expression.  Grasp  eagerly  every  oppor- 
tunity for  the  development  of  skill  in  clear 
and  forceful  expression.  Devote  assiduous 
attention  to  themes  and  all  written  work, 
and  make  serious  efforts  to  speak  well. 
Remember  you  are  forming  habits  that  will 
persist  throughout  your  life.  Emphasize, 
therefore,  at  every  step,  methods  of  expres- 
sion, for  it  is  this  phase  of  learning  in  which 
you  will  find  greatest  growth. 


CHAPTER  IX 
THE  PLATEAU  OF  DESPOND 

IN  our  investigation  of  the  psychology  of 
study  we  have  so  far  directed  our  attention 
chiefly  toward  the  subjective  side  of  the 
question,  seeking  to  discover  the  contents  of 
mind  during  study.  We  shall  now  take  an 
objective  view  of  study,  examining  not  the 
contents  of  mind  nor  methods  of  study,  but 
the  objective  results  of  study.  In  doing  this, 
we  choose  certain  unitsoFmeasurement,  the 
number  of  minutes  required  for  learning  a 
given  amount  or  the  ramount  learned  in  a 
stated  period  of  time.  We  may  do  this  for 
the  learning  of  any  material,  whether  it  be 
Greek  verbs  or  typewriting.  All  that  is 
necessary  is  to  decide  upon  some  method 
by  which  progress  can  be  noted  and  ex- 
pressed in  numerical  units.  This,  you  will 
observe,  constitutes  a  statistical  approach 

154 


THE  PLATEAU  OF  DESPOND         155 

to  the  processes  of  study,  such  as  is  em- 
ployed in  science,  and  just  as  the  statistical 
method  has  been  useful  in  science,  so  it  can 
be  of  value  in  education,  and  by  means  of 
statistical  investigations  of  learning  we 
may  hope  to  discover  some  of  the  factors 
operative  in  good  learning. 

Progress  in  learning  is  best  observable 
when  we  represent  our  measurements  graph- 
ically, when  they  take  the  form  of  a  curve, 
variously  called  "the  curve  of  efficiency," 
"practice  curve,"  "learning  curve."  We 
shall  take  a  sample  curve  for  the  basis 
of  our  discussion,  showing  the  progress  of  a 
beginner  in  the  Russian  language  for  sixty- 
five  days  (indicated  in  the  figure  by  hori- 
zontal divisions) .  The  student  studied  in- 
dustriously for  thirty  minutes  each  day  and 
then  translated  as  rapidly  as  possible  for 
fifteen  minutes,  the  number  of  words  trans- 
lated being  represented  by  the  vertical 
spaces  on  the  chart.  Thus,  on  the  tenth 
day,  twenty-five  words  were  translated,  on 
the  twentieth  day,  forty-five  words. 


156          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 


«4      TO      T» 


In  making  an  analysis  of  this  typical 
curve,  we  note  immediately  an  exceeding 
irregularity.  At  one  time  there  is  extraor- 


THE  PLATEAU  OF  DESPOND        157 

dinary  improvement,  but  a  later  measure- 
ment registers  pronounced  loss.  This  irreg- 
ularity is  very_commonjn  learning.  Some 
days  we  do  a  great  amount  of  work  and  do 
it  well,  but  perhaps  the  very  next  day 
shows  marked  diminution  inour  work. 

The  second  characteristic  ^ve  note  is  that 
there  is  extremely  rapid  improvement  at 

^ito«Mi»^Mw^^M^B«jNMi^'MA'BH*Nllll>l*^B|H<MM'BI******M4Mn*taMI«M*MiMBlM'MMM^ 

the  beginning,  the  curve  slanting  up  quite 
sharply.  This  is  common  in  learning,  and 
may  be  accountecjkfor  in  several  ways.  In 
the  first  place,  the  easiest  things  come  first. 
For  example,  when  you  are  beginning  the 
study  of  German,  you  are  given  mostly 
monosyllabic  words  to  learn.  These  are 
easily  remembered,  hence  progress  is  rapid. 
A  seconcl  reason  is  that  at  the  beginning 
there  are"  many  different  respects  in  which 
progress  can  be  made.  For  example,  the 
beginner  in  German  must  learn  nouns, 
case  endings,  declension  of  adjectives, 
days  of  the  week;  in  short,  a  vast  number 
of  new  things  all  at  once.  At  a  later  period 
however,  the.  number  of  new  things  to  be 


158          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

learned  is  much  smaller  and  improvement 
cannot  be  so  rapid.  A  third  reason  why 
learning  proceeds  more  rapidly  at  first  is 
that  the  interest  is  j*reater  at  this  time. 
You  have  doubtless  many  times  experienced 
this  fact,  and  you  know  that  when  a  thing 
has  the  interest  of  novelty  you  work  harder 
upon  it. 

If  you  will  examine  the  learning  curve 
closely,  you  will  note  that  after  the  initial 
spurt,  there  is  a  slowing  up.  The  curve  at 
this  point  appears  as  a  plateau,  and  it  looks 
as  if  the  work  stood  still  or  even  decreased. 
This  period  of  no  progress  is  regarded  as  a 
characteristic  of  the  learning  curve  and  is 
a  time  of  great  discouragement  to  the  con- 
scientious student,  so  distressing  that  we 
may  designate  it  "  the  plateau  of  despond.  * ' 
Most  people  describe  it  as  a  time  when 
they  feel  unable  to  learn  more  about  a 
subject;  the  mind  seems  to  be  sated;  new 
ideas  cannot  be  assimilated,  and  old  ones 
seem  to  be  forgotten.  The  plateau  may 
extend  for  a  long  or  a  short  time,  depend- 


THE  PLATEAU  OF  DESPOND        159 

ing  upon  the  nature  of  the  subject-matter 
and  the  length  of  time  over  which  the 
learning  extends.  In  the  case  of  profes- 
sional training,  it  may  extend  over  a  year 
or  more.  In  the  case  of  growing  children 
in  school,  it  sometimes  happens  that  an 
entire  year  elapses  during  which  the  learn- 
ing of  an  apparently  bright  student  is 
retarded.  In  a  course  of  study  in  high 
school  or  college,  it  may  come  on  about  the 
third  week  and  extend  a  month  or  more. 
Something  akin  to  the  plateau  may  come 
in  the  course  of  a  day,  when  we  realize 
that  our  efficiency  is  greatly  diminished 
and  we  seem,  for  an  hour  or  more,  to  make 
no  progress. 

Inasmuch  as  the  plateau  is  such  a  com- 
mon occurrence  in  human  activity,  we 
should  analyze  it  and  see  what  factors 
operate  to  influence  it.  It  is  interesting 
to  note  that  the  plateau  generally  occurs 
just  before  an  abrupt  rise  in  efficiency. 
This  is  significant,  for  it  may  mean  that 
the  plateau  is  necessary  in  learning,  espe- 


160  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

cially  just  preceding  greater  improve- 
ment. At  least  you  may  take  comfort 
from  the  fact  that  in  learning  it  seems  to  be 
so  arranged.  Accordingly,  when  you  ex- 
perience the  plateau  in  learning,  you  may 
take  comfort  in  the  thought  that  it  may 
presage  a  time  of  improvement.  On  the 
theory  that  it  is  a  necessary  part  of  learn- 
ing, it  has  been  regarded  as  a  resting  place. 
We  are  so  constituted  by  nature  that  we 
cannot  run  on  indefinitely;  nature  some- 
times must  call  a  halt.  Consequently,the 
plateau  may  be  a  warning  that  we  cannot 
learn  more  for  the  present  and  that  the 
proper  remedy  is  to  refrain  for  a  little 
while  from  further  efforts  in  that  line.  We 
fiave  possible  justification  for  this  inter- 
pretation when  we  reflect  that  a  vacation^ 
does  us  much  good,  and  though~we  T)egm 
it  feeling  stale,  we  end  it  feeling  much 
fresher  and  more  efficient. 

But  to  stop  work  temporarily  is  not  the 
only  way  to  meet  a  plateau,  and  fatigue 
or  ennui  is  probably  not  the  sole  or  most 


THE  PLATEAU  OF  DESPOND        161 

compelling  explanation.  It  may  be  that 
we  should  not  regard  the  objective  results 
as  the  true  measure  of  learning;  perhaps 
learning  is  going  on  even  though  the  results 
are  not  apparent.  We  discovered  some- 
thing in  the  nature  of  unconscious  learning 
in  our  discussion  of  memory,  and  it  may 
be  that  a  period  of  little  objective  prog- 
ress marks  a  period  of  active  unconscious 
learning. 

Another  meaning  which  the  plateau  may 
have  is  simply  to  mark,  places  of  greater 
difficulty.  As  already  remarked,  the  early 
period  is  a  stage  of  comparative  ease,  but 
as  the  work  becomes  more  difficult,  prog- 
ress is  slower.  It  is  also  quite  likely  that 
the  plateau  may  indicate  that  some  of  the 
factors  operative  at  the  start  are  operative 
no  longer.  Thus,  although  the  learning 
was  rapid  at  the  beginning  because  the  ma- 
terial learned  at  that  time  was  easy,  the 
plateau  may  come  because  the  things  to  be 
learned  have  become  difficult.  Or,  whereas 

the  beginning  was  attacked  with  consider- 

10 


162  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

able  interest,  the  plateau  may  mean  that 
the  interest  is  dying  down,  and  that  less 
effort  is  being  exerted. 

If  these  theories  are  the  true  explanation 
of  the  plateau,  we  see  that  it  is  not  to  be 
regarded  as  a  time  of  reduction  in  learning, 
to  be  contemplated  with  despair.  The  ap- 
propriate attitude  may  be  one  of  resigna- 
tion, with  the  determination  to  make  it  as 
slightly  disturbing  as  possible.  But  though 
the  reasons  just  described  may  have  some- 
thing to  do  with  the  production  of  the 
plateau,  as  yet  we  have  no  evidence  that  the 
plateau  cannot  be  dispensed  with.  It  is 
practically  certain  that  the  plateau  is  not 
caused  entirely  by  necessity  for  rest  or  un- 
conscious learning.  It  frequently  is  due, 
we  must  regretfully  admit,  to  poor  early 
preparation.  If  at  the  beginning  of  a  pe- 
riod of  learning  an  insecure  foundation  is 
laid,  it  cannot  be  expected  to  support  the 
burden  of  more  difficult  subject-matter. 

We  have  enumerated  a  number  of  the 
explanations  that  have  been  advanced  to 


THE  PLATEAU  OF  DESPOND         163 

account  for  the  plateau,  and  have  seen  that 
it  may  have  several  causes,  among  which 
are  necessity  for  rest,  increased  difficulty  of 
subject-matter,  loss  of  interest  and  insuf- 
ficient preparation.  In  trying  to  eliminate 
the  plateau,  our  remedy  should  be  adapted 
to  the  cause.  In  recognition  of  the  fact 
that  learning  proceeds  irregularly,  we  see 
that  it  is  rational  to  expect  the  amount  of 
effort  to  be  exerted  throughout  a  period  of 
learning,  to  vary.  It  will  vary  partly  with 
the  difficulty  of  subject-matter  and  partly 
with  fluctuations  in  bodily  and  mental  effi- 
ciency which  are  bound  to  occur  from  day  to 
day.  Since  this  irregularity  is  bound  to 
occur,  you  may  well  make  your  effort  vary 
from  one  extreme  to  the  other.  At  times, 
perhaps  your  most  profitable  move  may  be 
to  take  a  complete  vacation.  The  vacation 
might  cover  several  weeks,  a  week-end,  or 
if  the  plateau  is  merely  a  low  period  in  the 
day's  work,  then  ten  minutes  may  suffice 
for  a  vacation.  As  an  adjunct  to  such  rest 
periods,  some  form  of  recreation  should 


1<J4          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

usually  be  planned,  for  the  essential  thing 
is  to  permit  the  mind  to  rest  from  the  tire- 
some activity. 

If  your  plateau  represents  greater  diffi- 
culty of  subject-matter  and  loss  of  interest, 
your  duty  is  plainly  to  work  harder.  In 
exerting  more  effort,  make  some  changes  in 
your  methods  of  study.  For  example,  if 
you  have  been  accustomed  to  study  a  cer- 
tain subject  by  silent  reading,  begin  to  read 
your  lessons  aloud.  Change  your  method 
of  taking  notes,  or  change  the  hour  of  day 
in  which  you  prepare  your  lesson.  In 
short,  try  any  of  the  methods  described  in 
this  book,  and  use  your  own  ingenuity,  and 
the  change  in  method  may  overcome  the 
plateau. 

If  a  plateau  is  due  to  our  last-mentioned 
cause,  insufficient  preparation,  the  remedy 
must  be  drastic.  To  make  new  resolutions 
and  to  put  forth  additional  effort  is  not 
enough;  you  must  go  back  and  relay  the 
foundation.  Make  a  thorough  review  of 
the  work  which  you  covered  slightingly, 


THE  PLATEAU  OF  DESPOND        165 

making  sure  that  every  step  is  clear.  This 
process  was  described  in  an  earlier  chapter 
as  the  clarification  of  ideas  and  is  abso- 
lutely essential  in  building  up  a  structure 
of  knowledge  that  will  stand.  Indeed,  as 
you  take  various  courses  you  will  find  that 
your  study  will  be  much  improved  by^peri^ 
odical  reviews.  The  benefits  cannot  all  be 
enumerated  Here,  but  we  may  reasonably 
claim  that  a  review  will  be  very  likely  to 
remove  a  plateau,  and  used  with  the  other 
remedies  herein  suggested,  will  help  you  to 
rid  yourself  of  one  of  the  most  discouraging 
features  of  student  life.  » 


CHAPTER  X 
MENTAL   SECOND-WIND 

DID  you  ever  engage  in  any  exhausting 
physical  work  for  a  long  period  of  time? 
If  so,  you  probably  remember  that  as  you 
proceeded,  you  became  more  and  more 
fatigued,  finally  reaching  a  point  when  it 
seemed  that  you  could  not  endure  the 
strain  another  minute.  You  had  just 
decided  to  give  up,  when  suddenly  the 
fatigue  seemed  to  diminish  and  new  energy 
seemed  to  come  from  some  source.  This 
curious  thing,  which  happens  frequently 
in  athletic  activities,  is  known  as  second- 
wind,  and  is  described  by  those  who  have 
experienced  it  as  a  time  of  increased  power, 
when  the  work  is  done  with  greater  ease 
and  effectiveness  and  with  a  freshness  and 
vigor  in  great  contrast  to  the  staleness 
that  preceded  it.  It  is  as  though  one 

166 


MENTAL  SECOND-WIND  167 

" tapped  a  level  of  new  energy,"  revealing 
hidden  stores  of  unexpected  power.  And 
it  is  commonly  reported  that  with  persist- 
ence in  pushing  one's  self  farther  and 
farther,  a  third  and  fourth  wind  may  be 
uncovered,  each  one  leading  to  greater 
heights  of  achievement. 

This  phenomenon  occurs  not  alone  on 
the  physical  plane;  it  is  discernible  in 
mental  exertion  as  well.  True,  we  seldom 
experience  it  because  we  are  mentally  lazy 
and  have  the  habit  of  stopping  our  work 
at  the  first  signs  of  fatigue.  Did  we  per- 
sist, however,  disregarding  fatigue  and 
ennui,  we  should  find  ourselves  tapping 
vast  reserves  of  mental  power  and  accom- 
plishing mental  feats  of  astonishing 
brilliancy. 

The  occasional  occurrence  of  the  phe- 
nomenon of  second-wind  gives  ground  for 
the  statement  that  we  possess  more  energy 
than  we  ordinarily  use.  There  are  several 
lines  of  evidence  for  this  statement.  One 
is  to  be  found  in  the  energizing  effects  of 


168          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

emotional  excitement.  Under  the  impetus 
of  anger,  a  man  shows  far  greater  strength 
than  he  ordinarily  uses.  Similarly,  a 
mother  manifests  the  strength  of  a  tigress 
when  her  young  is  endangered.  A  second 
line  of  evidence  is  furnished  by  the  effect 
of  stimulants.  Alcohol  brings  to  the  fore 
surprising  reserves  of  physical  and  psychic 
energy.  Lastly,  we  have  innumerable  in- 
stances of  accession  of  strength  under  the 
stimulus  of  an  idea.  Under  the  domination 
of  an  all-absorbing  idea,  one  performs  feats 
of  extraordinary  strength,  utilizing  stores 
of  energy  otherwise  out  of  reach.  We 
have  only  to  read  of  the  heroic  achieve- 
ments of  little  Joan  of  Arc  for  an  example 
of  such  manifestation  of  reserve  power. 

When  we  examine  this  accession  of 
energy  we  find  it  to  be  describable  in 
several  ways — physiologically,  neurologi- 
cally  and  psychologically.  The  physio- 
logical effects  consist  in  a  heightening  of 
the  bodily  functions  in  general.  The 
muscles  become  more  ready  to  act,  the 


MENTAL  SECOND-WIND  169 

circulation  is  accelerated,  the  breathing 
more  rapid.  Curious  things  take  place  in 
various  glands  throughout  the  body.  One, 
the  adrenal  gland,  has  been  the  object  of 
special  study  and  has  been  shown,  upon 
the  arousal  of  these  reserves  of  energy,  to 
produce  a  secretion  of  the  utmost  impor- 
tance in  providing  for  sudden  emergen- 
cies. This  little  gland  is  located  above  the 
kidney,  and  is  aroused  to  intense  activity 
at  times,  pouring  out  into  the  blood  a 
fluid  that  goes  all  over  the  body.  Some  of 
its  effects  are  to  furnish  the  blood  with 
chemicals  that  act  as  fuel  to  the  muscles, 
assisting  them  to  contract  more  vigorously, 
to  make  the  lungs  more  active  in  intro- 
ducing oxygen  into  the  system,  to  make 
the  heart  more  active  in  distributing  the 
blood  throughout  the  body.  Such  glan- 
dular activity  is  an  important  physiological 
condition  of  these  higher  levels  of  energy. 
In  neurological  terms,  the  increase  in 
energy  consists  in  the  flow  of  more  nervous 
energy  into  the  brain,  particularly  into 


170          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

those  areas  where  it  is  needed  for  certain 
kinds  of  controlled  thought  and  action. 
An  abundance  of  nervous  energy  is  very 
advantageous,  for,  as  has  been  intimated 
hi  a  former  chapter,  nervous  energy  is 
diffused  and  spread  over  all  the  pathways 
that  are  easily  permeable  to  its  distribu- 
tion. This  results  in  the  use  of  consider- 
able areas  of  brain  surface,  and  knits  up 
many  associations,  so  that  one  idea  calls 
up  many  other  ideas.  This  leads  us  to 
recognize  the  psychological  conditions  of 
increased  energy,  which  are,  first,  the 
presence  of  more  ideas,  second,  the  more 
facile  flow  of  ideas;  the  whole  accompanied 
by  a  state  of  marked  pleasurableness. 
Pleasure  is  a  notable  effect  of  increased 
energy.  When  work  progresses  rapidly 
and  satisfactorily,  it  is  accomplished  with 
great  zest  and  a  feeling  almost  akin  to 
exaltation.  These  conditions  describe  to 
some  degree  the  conditions  when  we  are 
doing  efficient  work. 

Since  we  are  endowed  with  the  energy 


MENTAL  SECOND-WIND  171 

requisite  for  such  efficient  work,  the  obvi- 
ous question  is,  why  do  we  not  more  fre- 
quently use  it?  The  answer  is  to  be  found 
in  the  fact  that  we  have  formed  the  habit 
of  giving  up  before  we  create  conditions  of 
high  efficiency.  You  will  note  that  the 
conditions  require  long-continued  exertion 
and  resolute  persistence.  This  is  difficult, 
and  we  indulgently  succumb  to  the  first 
symptoms  of  fatigue,  before  we  have  more 
than  scratched  the  surface  of  our  real 
potentialities. 

Because  of  the  prominent  place  occupied 
by  fatigue  in  thus  being  responsible  for 
our  diminished  output,  we  shall  briefly 
consider  its  place  in  study.  Everyone  who 
has  studied  will  agree  that  fatigue  is  an 
almost  invariable  attendant  of  continuous 
mental  exertion.  We  shall  lay  down  the 
proposition  at  the  start,  however,  that  the 
awareness  of  fatigue  is  not  the  same  as 
the  objective  fatigue  in  the  organs  of  the 
body.  Fatigue  should  be  regarded  as  a 
twofold  thing — a  state  of  mind,  designated 


172          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

its  subjective  aspect,  and.^a-.x^?ndition  of 
various  parts  of  the  body,  designated  its 
objective  aspect.  The  former  is  observable 
by  introspection,  the  latter  by  analysis  of 
bodily  secretions  and  by  measurement  of 
the  diminution  of  work,  entirely  without 
reference  to  the  way  the  mind  regards  the 
work.  Fatigue  subjectively,  or  fatigue  as 
we  feel  it,  is  not  at  all  the  same  as  fatigue 
as  manifested  in  the  body.  If  we  were  to 
make  two  curves,  the  one  showing  the 
advancement  of  the  feeling  of  fatigue,  and 
the  other  showing  the  advancement  of 
impotence  on  the  part  of  the  bodily  proc- 
esses, the  two  curves  would  not  at  all 
coincide.,  ^Stated  another  way,  fatigue  is 
a  complex  thing,  a  product  of  ideas,  feel- 
ings and  sensations,  and  sometimes  the 
ideas  overbalance  the  sensations  and  we 
think  we  are  more  tired  then  we  are 
objectively.  It  is  this  fact  that  accounts 
for  our  too  rapid  giving  up  when  we  are 
engaged  in  hard  work. 
A  psychological  analysis  of  the  sub- 


MENTAL  SECOND-WIND  173 

jective  side  of  fatigue  will  make  its  true 
nature  more  apparent.  Probably  the  first 
thing  we  find  in  the  mind  when  fatigued 
is  a  large  mass  of  sensations.  They  are 
referred  to  various  parts  of  the  body, 
mostly  the  part  where  muscular  activity 
has  been  most  violent  and  prolonged.  Not 
all  of  the  sensations,  however,  are  intense 
enough  to  be  localizable,  some  being  so 
vague  that  we  merely  say  we  are  "  tired 
all  over."  These  vague  sensations  are 
often  overlooked;  nevertheless,  as  will  be 
shown  later,  they  may  be  exceedingly 
important. 

But  sensations  are  not  the  only  contents 
of  the  mind  at  time  of  fatigue.  Feelings 
are  present  also,  usually  of  a  very  un- 
pleasant kind.  They  are  related  partly  to 
the  sensations  mentioned  above,  which  are 
essentially  painful,  and  they  are  feelings  of 
boredom  and  ennui.  We  have  yet  to  exam- 
ine the  ideas  in  mind  and  their  behavior  at 
time  of  fatigue.  They  come  sluggishly, 
associations  being  made  slowly  and  inaccu- 


174  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

rately,  and  we  make  many  mistakes.  But 
constriction  of  ideas  is  not  the  sole  effect  of 
fatigue.  At  such  a  time  there  are  usually 
other  ideas  in  the  mind  not  relevant  to  the 
fatiguing  task  of  the  moment,  and  exceed- 
ingly distracting.  Often  they  are  so  insist- 
ent in  forcing  themselves  upon  our  atten- 
tion -that  we  throw  up  the  work  without 
j  further  effort.  It  is  practically  certain  that 
•  much  of  our  fatigue  is  due,  not  to  real 
weariness  and  inability  to  work,  but  to  the 
presence  of  ideas  that  appear  so  attractive 
Jn  contrast  with  the  work  in  hand  that  we 
say  we  are  tired  of  the  latter.  What  we 
really  mean  is  that  we  would  rather  do 
something  else.  These  obtruding  ideas  are 
often  introduced  into  our  minds  by  other 
people  who  tell  us  that  we  have  worked  long 
enough  and  ought  to  come  and  play,  and 
though  we  may  not  have  felt  tired  up  to 
this  point,  still  the  suggestion  is  so  strong 
that  we  immediately  begin  to  feel  tired. 
Various  social  situations  can  arouse  the 
same  suggestion.  For  example,  as  the 


MENTAL  SECOND-WIND  175 

clock  nears  quitting  time,  we  feel  that  we 
ought  to  be  tired,  so  we  allow  ourselves  to 
think  we  are. 

Let  us  now  examine  the  bodily  condi- 
tions to  see  what  fatigue  is  objectively. 
"  Physiologically  it  has  been  demonstrated 
that  fatigue  is  accompanied  by  three  sorts 
of  changes.  First,  poisons  accumulate  in 
the  blood  and  affect  the  action  of  the  ner- 
vous system,  as  has  been  shown  by  direct 

analysis.   Mosso selected  two  dogs  as 

nearly  alike  as  possible.  One  he  kept  tied 
all  day;  the  other,  he  exercised  until  by 
night  it  was  thoroughly  tired.  Then  he 
transfused  the  blood  of  the  tired  animal 
into  the  veins  of  the  rested  one  and  pro- 
duced in  him  all  the  signs  of  fatigue  that 
were  shown  by  the  other.  There  can  be  no 
doubt  that  the  waste  products  of  the  body 
accumulate  in  the  blood  and  interfere  with 
the  action  of  the  nerve  cells  and  muscles. 
It  is  probable  that  these  accumulations 
come  as  a  result  of  mental  as  well  as  of 
physical  work. 


176  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

"A  second  change  in  fatigue  has  been 
found  in  the  'cell  body  of  the  neurone. 
Hodge  showed  that  the  size  of  the  nucleus 
of  the  cell  in  the  spinal  cord  of  a  bee  dimin- 
ished nearly  75  per  cent,  as  a  result  of  the 
day's  activity,  and  that  the  nucleus  became 
much  less  solid.  A  third  change  that  has 
been  demonstrated  as  a  result  of  muscular 
work  is  the  accumulation  of  waste  products 
in  the  muscle  tissue.  Fatigued  muscles 
contain  considerable  percentages  of  these 
products.  That  they  are  important  factors 
in  the  fatigue  process  has  been  shown  by 
washing  them  from  a  fatigued  muscle.  As 
a  result  the  muscle  gains  new  capacity  for 
work.  The  experiments  are  performed  on 
the  muscles  of  a  frog  that  have  been  cut 
from  the  body  and  fatigued  by  electrical 
stimulation.  When  they  will  no  longer  re- 
spond, their  sensitivity  may  be  renewed  by 
washing  them  in  dilute  alcohol  or  in  a  weak 
salt  solution  that  will  dissolve  the  products 
of  fatigue.  It  is  probable  that  these  prod- 
ucts stimulate  the  sense-organs  in  the 


MENTAL  SECOND-WIND  177 

muscles  and  thus  give  some  of  the  sensa- 
tions of  fatigue.  Of  these  physical  effects 
of  fatigue,  the  accumulation  of  waste  prod- 
ucts in  the  blood  and  the  effects  upon  the 
nerve  cells  are  probably  common  both  to 
mental  and  physical  fatigue.  The  effect 
upon  the  muscles  plays  a  part  in  mental 
fatigue  only  so  far  as  all  mental  work  in- 
volves some  muscular  activity. " 

By  this  time  you  must  be  convinced  that 
the  subject  of  fatigue  is  exceedingly  com- 
plicated ;  that  its  effects  are  manifested  dif- 
ferently in  mind  and  body.  In  relieving 
fatigue  the  first  step  to  be  taken  is  to  rest 
properly.  Man  cannot  work  incessantly; 
he  must  rest  sometimes,  and  it  is  just  as 
important  to  know  how  to  rest  efficiently 
as  to  know  how  to  work  efficiently.  By 
this  is  not  meant  that  one  should  rest  as 
soon  as  fatigue  begins  to  be  felt.  Quite  the 
reverse.  Keep  on  working  all  the  harder  if 
you  wish  the  second-wind  to  appear.  Per- 
haps two  hours  will  exhaust  your  first  sup- 
ply of  energy  and  will  leave  you  greatly 
11 


178          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

fatigued.  Do  not  give  up  at  this  time,  how- 
ever. Push  yourself  farther  in  order  to  un- 
cover tKe  second  layer  of  energy.  Before 
entering  upon  this,  however,  it  will  be  pos- 
sible to  secure  some  advantage  by_resting 
for  about  fifteen  minutes.  Do  not  rest 
longer  than  this,  or  you  may  lose  the 
momentum  already  secured  and  your  two 
hours  will  have  gone  for  naught.  If  one 
indulges  in  too  long  a  rest,  the  energy  seems 
to  run  down  and  more  effort  is  required  to 
work  it  up  again  than  was  originally  ex- 
pended. It  is  also  important  to  observe 
the  proper  mental  conditions  during  rest. 
Do  not  spend  the  fifteen  minutes  in  getting 
interested  in  some  other  object;  for  that 
will  leave  distracting  ideas  in  the  mind 
which  will  persist  when  you  resume  work. 
Make  the  rest  a  time  of  physical  and  men- 
tal relief.  Move  cramped  muscles,  rest 
your  eyes  and  let  your  thoughts  idly  wan- 
der; then  come  back  to  work  in  ten  or  fif- 
teen minutes  and  you  will  be  amazed  at  the 
refreshed  feeling  with  which  you  do  your 


MENTAL  SECOND-WIND  179 

work  and  at  the  accession  of  new  energy 
that  will  come  to  you.  Keep  on  at  this  new 
plane  and  your  work  will  take  on  all  the 
attributes  of  the  second-wind  level  of 
efficiency. 

Besides  planning  intelligent  rests,  you 
may  also  adjust  yourself  to  fatigue  by  ar- 
ranging your  daily  program  so  as  to  do  your  ( 
hardest  work  when  you  are  fresh,  and  your  \ 
easiest  when  your  efficiency  is  low.     In  / 
other  words,  you  are  a  human  dynamo,  and 
should  adjust  yourself  to  the  different  loads 
you  carry.    When  carrying  a  heavy  load, 
employ  your  best  energies;  but  when  carry- 
ing only  a  light  load,  exert  a  proportionate 
amount   of   energy.     Every  student  has 
tasks  of  a  routine  nature  which  do  not  re- 
quire a  high  degree  of  energy,  such  as  copy- 
ing material.    Plan  to  perform  such  work 
when  your  stock  of  energy  is  lowest. 

, 

One  of  the  best  ways  to  insure  the  attain-; 
ment  of  a  higher  plane  of  mental  efficiency*' 
is  to  assume  an  attitude  of  mterestedness. 
This  is  an  emotional  state  and  we  have  seen 


180          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

that   emotion   calls   forth    great    energy. 

A  final  aid  in  promoting  increase  of 
energy  is  that  gained  through  stimulating 
ideas.  Other  things  being  equal,  the  stu- 
dent who  is  animated  by  a  stimulating  idea 
works  more  diligently  and  effectively  than 
one  without.  The  idea  may  be  a  lofty  pro- 
fessional ideal;  it  may  be  a  desire  to  please 
one's  family,  a  sense  of  duty,  or  a  wish  to 
excel.  Whatever  it  is,  an  idea  may  stimu- 
late to  extraordinary  achievements.  Adopt 
some  compelling  aim  if  you  have  none.  A 
vocational  aim  often  serves  as  a  powerful 
incentive  throughout  one's  student  life. 
An  idea  may  operate  for  even  more  tran- 
sient purposes;  it  may  make  one  oblivious 
to  present  discomfort  to  a  remarkable 
degree.  This  is  accomplished  through  the 
aid  of  suggestion^  When  suggestions  of 
fatigue  approach,  you  may  ward  them  off 
by  resolutely  suggesting  to  yourself  that 
you  are  feeling  fresh. 

Above  all,  the  will  is  effective  in  lifting 
one  to  higher  levels  of  efficiency.  It  is 


MENTAL  SECOND-WIND  181 

notorious  that  a  single  effort  of  the  will, 
"such  as  saying  'nor  to  some  habitual  temp-' 
tation  or  performing  some  courageous  act^ 
will  launch  a  man  on  a  higher  level  o$ 
energy  for  days  and  weeks,  will  give  him  a| 
new  range  of  power.  'In  the  act  of  uncork-! 
ing  the  whiskey  bottle  which  I  had  brought 
home  to  get  drunk  upon, '  said  a  man  to  me, 
'I  suddenly  found  myself  running  out  into 
the  garden,  where  I  smashed  it  on  the 
ground.  I  felt  so  happy  and  uplifted  after 
this  act,  that  for  two  months  I  wasn't 
tempted  to  touch  a  drop."  But  the  re-1 
suits  of  exertions  of  the  will  arejipt  usually 
so  immediate,  and  you  may  accept  it  as  a 
fact  that  in  raising  yourself  to  a  higher 
level  of  energy  you  cannot  do  it  by  a  single 
effort.  Continuous  effort  is  required  until 
the  higher  levels  of  energy  have  formed  the 
habit  of  responding  when  work  is  to  be 
done.  In  laying  the  burden  upon  Nature's 
mechanism  of  habit,  you  see  you  are  again 
face  to  face  with  the  proposition  laid  down 
at  the  beginning  of  the  book — that  educa- 


182          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

tion  consists  in  the  process  of  forming 
habits  of  mind.  The  particuj.ajjhabit  most 
important  to  cultivate  in  connection  with 
the  production  of  second-wind  is  the  habit 
of  resisting  fatigue.  Form  the  habit  of  per- 
sisting in  spite  of  apparent  obstacles  and 
limitations.  Though  they  seem  almost  un- 
surmountable,  they  are  really  only  super- 
ficial. Buried  deep  within  you  are  stores  of 
energy  that  you  yourself  are  unaware  of. 
They  will  assist  you  in  accomplishing  feats 
far  greater  than  you  think  yourself  capable 
of.  Draw  upon  these  resources  and  you 
will  find  yourself  gradually  living  and  work- 
ing upon  a  higher  plane  of  efficiency,  im- 
proving the  quality  of  your  work,  increas- 
ing the  quantity  of  your  work  and  enhanc- 
ing your  enjoyment  in  work. 


CHAPTER  XI 
EXAMINATIONS 

ONE  of  the  most  vexatious  periods  of 
student  life  is  examination  time.  This  is 
almost  universally  a  time  of  great  distress, 
giving  rise  in  extreme  cases  to  conditions  of 
nervous  collapse.  The  reason  for  this  is  not 
far  to  seek,  for  upon  the  results  of  examina- 
tions frequently  depend  momentous  con- 
sequences, such  as  valuable  appointments, 
diplomas,  degrees  and  other  important 
events  in  the  life  of  a  student.  In  view  of 
the  importance  of  examinations,  then,  it  is 
natural  that  they  be  regarded  with  consid- 
erable fear  and  trepidation,  and  it  is  impor- 
tant that  we  devise  what  rules  we  can  for 
meeting  their  exactious  demands  with  great- 
est ease  and  effectiveness. 

Examinations  serve  several  purposes,  the 
foremost  of  which  is  to  inform  the  examiner 

183 


184  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

regarding  the  amount  of  knowledge  pos- 
sessed by  the  student.  In  discovering  this, 
two  methods  may  be  employed;  first,  to 
test  whether  or  not  the  student  knows  cer- 
tain things,  plainly  a  reproductive  exercise; 
second,  to  see  how  well  the  student  can 
apply  his  knowledge.  But  this  is  not  the 
only  function  of  an  examination.  It  also 
shows  the  student  how  much  he  knows  or 
does  not  know.  Again  the  examination 
often  serves  as  an  incentive  to  harder  work 
on  the  part  of  the  student,  for  if  one  knows 
there  will  be  an  examination  in  a  subject, 
one  usually  studies  with  greater  zeal  than 
when  an  examination  is  not  expected. 
Lastly,  an  examination  may  help  the  stu- 
dent to  link  up  facts  in  new  ways,  and  to  see 
them  in  new  relationships.  In  this  aspect, 
you  readily  see  that  examinations  consti- 
tute a  valuable  device  in  learning. 

But  students  are  not  very  patient  in 
philosophizing  about  the  purpose  of  exam- 
inations, declaring  that  if  examinations  are 
a  necessary  part  of  the  educational  process, 


EXAMINATIONS  185 

they  wish  some  advice  that  will  enable 
them  to  pass  examinations  easily  and  with 
credit  to  themselves.  So  we  shall  turn  our 
attention  to  the  practical  problems  of  pass- 
ing examinations. 

Our  first  duty  in  giving  advice  is  to  call 
attention  to  the  necessity  for  faithful  work 
throughout  the  course  of  study.  Some 
students  seem  to  think  that  they  can  slight 
their  work  throughout  a  course,  and  by 
vigorous  cramming  at  the  end  make  up 
for  slighted  work  and  pass  the  examination. 
This  is  an  extremely  dangerous  attitude 
to  take.  It  might  work  with  certain  kinds 
of  subject-matter,  a  certain  type  of  stu- 
dent-mind and  a  certain  kind  of  examiner, 
but  as  a  general  practice  it  is  a  most 
treacherous  method  of  passing  a  course. 
The  greatest  objection  from  a  psychological 
standpoint  is  that  we  have  reason  to 

1  believe  that  learning  thus  concentrated  is 
not  so  permanently  effective  as  that  ex- 
tended over  a  long  period  of  time.  For 
instance,  a  German  course  extending  over 


186          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

a  year  has  much  to  commend  it  over  a 
course  with  the  same  number  of  recitation- 
hours  crowded  into  two  months.  So  we 
may  lay  it  down  as  a  rule  that  feverish 
exertions  for  a  few  hours  at  the  end  of  a 
course  cannot  replace  conscientious  daily 
work  throughout  the  course. 

Against  cramming  it  may  further  be 
urged  that  the  hasty  impression  of  a  mass 
of  new  material  is  not  likely  to  be  lasting; 
particularly  is  this  true  when  the  cramming 
is  made  specifically  for  a  certain  exami- 
nation. As  we  saw  in  the  chapter  on 
1 1  memory,  the  intention  to  remember  affects 
II  the  firmness  of  retention,  and  if  the  cram- 
ming is  done  merely  with  reference  to  the 
examination,  the  facts  learned  may  be  for- 
gotten and  never  be  available  for  future 
use.  So  we  may  lay  it  down  as  a  rule 
that  feverish  exertions  at  the  end  of  a 
course  cannot  replace  conscientious  work 
throughout  the  course. 

In  spite  of  these  objections,  however, 
we  must  admit  that  cramming  has  some 


EXAMINATIONS  187 

yalue,  if  it  does  not  take  the  form  of  new 
acquisition  of  facts,  but  consists  more  of  a 
manipulation  of  facts  already  learned.  As_ 
a  method  of  review,  it  has  an  eminently 
proper  place  and  may  well  be  regarded  as 
indispensable.  Some  students,  it  is  true, 
assert  that  they  derive  little  benefit  from 
a  pre-examination  review,  but  one  is  in- 
clined to  question  their  methods.  We 
have  already  found  that  learning  is  charac- 
teristically aided  by  reviews,  and  that 
recall  is  facilitated  by  recencyof  impres^ 
sio^  Reviewing  just  before  examination 
serves  the  memory  by  providing  ^egetition 

and  recency,  which,  as  we  learned  in  tne* 

'  . 

chapter  on  memory,   are   conditions  for 

favorable  impression. 

A  further  value  of  cramming  is  that  by 
means  of  such  a  summarizing  review  one  is 
able  to  see  facts  in  a  greater  number  of 
relations  than  before.  It  too  often  hap- 
pens that  when  facts  are  taken  up  in  a 
course  they  come  in  a  more  or  less  detached 
form,  but  at  the  conclusion  of  the  course 


188          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

a  review  will  show  the  facts  in  perspective 
and  will  disclose  many  new  relations  be- 
tween them. 

f  Another  ffiv*"ltffligft  nf  ^nHUpinp  *s  *^a^  | 
at  such  a  time,  one  usually  works  at  a  high  I 
plane  of  efficiency ;  the  task  of  reviewing 
In  a  few  hours  the  work  of  an  entire  course 
is  so  huge  that  the  attention  is  closely 
concentrated,  impressions  are  made  viv- 
idly, and  the  entire  mentality  is  tuned  up 
so  that  facts  are  well  impressed,  coordi- 
nated and  retained.  These  advantages  are 
not  all  present  in  the  more  leisurely  learn- 
ing of  a  course,  so  we  see  that  cramming 
may  be  regarded  as  a  usefuj^jjeyjfi^  in 
learning. 

We  must  not  forget  that  many  of  the  j 
advantages  secured  by  cramming  are  de-  I 
pendent  upon  the  methods  pursued.    There  ' 
are  good  methods  and  poor  methods  of 
cramming.     One  of  the  most  reprehen-^ 
sible  of  the  latter  is  to  get  into  a  flurry  and 
scramble  madly  through  a  mass  of  facts 
without  regard  to  their  relation  to  each. 


EXAMINATIONS  189 

other.     This  method  is  characterized  by 
breathless  haste  and  an  anxious  fear  lest 
something  be  missed  or  forgotten.     Per- 
haps its  most  serious  evil  is  its  formlessness 
and  lack  of  plan.    In  other  words  the  facts 
should  not  be  seized  upon  singly  but  should 
be  regarded  in  the  light  of  their  different 
relations  with  each  other.     Suppose,  for 
example,  you  are  reviewing  for  an  exami- 
nation in  mediaeval  history.    The  impor- 
tant events  may  be  studied  according  to 
countries,  studying  one  country  at  a  time, 
but    that    is    not    sufficient;    the    events 
occurring  during  one  period  in  one  country 
should  be  correlated  with  those  occurring 
in   another   country   at   the   same   time. 
Likewise  the  movements  in  the  field  of 
science  and  discovery  should  be  correlated 
with  movements  in  the  fields  of  literature, 
religion  and  political  control.     Tabulate 
the  events  in  chronological  order  and  com- 
pare the  different  series  of  events  with  each 
other.    In  this  way  the  facts  will  be  seen 
in  new  relations  and  will  be  more  firmly 


190          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

impressed  so  that  you  can  use  them  in 
answering  a  great  variety  of  questions. 

Having  made  preparation  of  the  sub- 
ject-matter of  the  examination,  the  next 
step  is  to  prepare  yourself  physically  for 
the  trying  ordeal,  for  it  is  well  known  that 
the  mind  acts  more  ably  under  physically 
healthful  conditions.  Go  to  the  exami- 
nation-room with  your  body  rested  after 
a  good  night's  sleep.  Eat  sparingly  before 
the  examination,  for  mental  processes  are 
likely  to  be  clogged  if  too  heavy  food  is 
taken. 

Having  reached  the  examination-room, 
there  are  a  number  of  considerations  that 
are  requisite  for  success.  Some  of  the 
advice  here  given  may  seem  to  be  super- 
fluous but  if  you  had  ever  corrected 
examination  papers  you  would  see  the 
need  of  it  all.  Let  your  first  step  consist 
of  a  preliminary  survey  of  the  examination 
questions;  read  them  all  over  slowly  and 
thoughtfully  in  order  to  discover  the 
extent  of  the  task  set  before  you.  A  strik- 


EXAMINATIONS  191 

ing  thing  is  accomplished  by  this  prelimi- 
nary reading  of  the  questions.  It  seems 
as  though  during  the  examination  period 
the  knowledge  relating  to  the  different! 
questions  assembles  itself,  and  while  yoi 
are  focusing  your  attention  upon  the 
answer  to  one  question,  the  answers  t( 
the  other  questions  are  formulating  them- 
selves in  your  mind.  It  is  a  semi-conscious| 
operation,  akin  to  the  "unconscious  learn- 
ing" discussed  in  the  chapter  on  memory .* 
In  order  to  take  advantage  of  it,  it  is 
necessary  to  have  the  questions  in  mind 
as  soon  as  possible;  then  it  will  be  found 
that  relevant  associations  will  form  and 
will  come  to  the  surface  when  you  reach 
the  particular  questions. 

During  the  examination  when  some  of  ! 
these  associations  come  into  consciousness 
ahead  of  time,  it  is  often  wise  to  digress 
from  the  question  in  hand  long  enough  to 
jot  them  down.     By  all  means  preserve 

«JtMj|(B^y^»iS**i^C«*<<<W^"**t***'^w« 

them,  for  if  you  do  not  write  them  down 
they  may  leave  you  and  be  lost.     Some- 


192          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

v  times  very  brilliant  ideas  come  in  flashes, 
and  inasmuch  as  they  are  so  fleeting,  it  is 
wise  to  grasp  them  and  fix  them  while 
they  are  fresh. 

In  writing  the  examination,  be  sure  you 
read  every  question  carefully.  Each  ques- 
tion has  a  definite  point;  look  for  it,  and 
do  not  start  answering  until  you  are  sure 
you  have  found  it.  Discover  the  implica- 
tions of  each  question;  canvass  its  possible 
interpretations,  and  if  it  is  at  all  ambiguous 
seek  light  from  the  instructor  if  he  is 
willing  to  make  any  further  comment. 

It  is  well  to  have  scratch  paper  handy 
and  make  outlines  for  your  answers  to 
long  questions.  It  is  a  good  plan,  also, 
when  dealing  with  long  questions,  to 
watch  the  time  carefully,  for  there  is 
danger  that  you  will  spend  too  much  time 
upon  some  question  to  the  detriment  of 
others  equally  important,  though  shorter. 

One  error  which  students  often  commit 
in  taking  examinations  is  to  waste  time  in 
dreaming.  As  they  come  upon  a  difficult 


EXAMINATIONS  193 

question  they  sit  back  and  wait  for  the 
answer  to  come  to  them.  This  is  the 
wrong  plan.  The  secret  of  freedom  of  ideas 


lies  jri  activity.  Therefore,  at  such  times, 
keep  active,  so  that  the  associative  proc- 
esses will  operate  freely.  Stimulate  brain 
activity  by  the  method  suggested  in 
Chapter  VIII,  namely,  by  means  of  mus- 
cular activity.  Instead  of  idly  waiting 
for  flashes  of  inspiration,  begin  to  write. 
You  may  not  be  able  to  write  directly  upon 
the  point  at  issue,  but  you  can  write  some- 
thing about  it,  and  as  you  begin  to  explore 
and  to  express  your  meagre  fund  of  knowl- 
edge, one  idea  will  call  up  another  and  soon 
the  correct  answer  will  appear. 

After  you  have  prepared  yourself  to  the 
extent  of  your  ability,  you  should  maintain 
toward  the  examination  an  attitude  of 
confidence.  Believe  firmly  that  you  will 
pass  the  examination.  Make  strong  sug- 
gestions to  yourself,  affirming  positively 
that  you  have  the  requisite  amount  of 
information  and  the  ability  to  express  it 
12 


194          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

coherently  and  forcefully.  Fortified  by 
the  consciousness  of  faithful  application 
throughout  the  work  of  a  course,  rein- 
forced by  a  thorough,  well-planned  review, 
and  with  a  firm  conviction  in  the  strength 
of  your  own  powers,  you  may  approach 
your  examinations  with  comparative  ease 
and  with  good  chances  of  passing  them 
creditably. 


CHAPTER  XII 

BODILY  CONDITIONS  JFOR  [EFFECTIVE 
STUDY 

IT  is  a  truism  to  say  that  mental  ability 
is  affected  by  bodily  conditions.    A  com- 
mon complaint  of  students  is  that  they 
cannot  study  because  of  a  headache,  or 
they  fail  in  class  because  of  loss  of  sleep. 
So   patent   is   the   interrelation   between 
bodily  condition  and  study  that  we  can- 
not consider  our  discussion  of  study  prob- 
lems complete  without  recognition  of  the 
topic.     We   shall   group   our  discussions 
about  three  of  the  most  important  physi- 
cal activities,  eating,  sleeping  and  exer- 
cising.   These  make  up  the  greater  part  of 
our  daily  activities  and  if  they  are  properly 
regulated  our  study  is  likely  to  be  effective. 
EATING. — It  is  generally  agreed  that  the 
main  function  of  eating  is  to  repair  the 
tissues  of  the  body.     Other  effects  are 

195 


106          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

present,  such  as  pleasure  and  sociability, 
but  its  chief  benefit  is  reparative,  so  we 
may  well  regard  the  subject  from  a  strictly 
utilitarian  standpoint  and  inquire  how  we 
may  produce  the  highest  efficiency  from 
our  eating.  Some  of  the  important  ques- 
tions about  eating  are,  how  much  to  eat, 
what  kind  of  food  to  eat,  when  to  eat,  what 
are  the  most  favorable  conditions  for 
eating? 

The  quantity  of  food  to  be  taken  varies 
with  the  demands  of  the  individual  appe- 
tite and  the  individual  powers  of  absorp- 
tion. In  general,  one  who  is  engaged  in 
physical  labor  needs  more,  because  of 
increased  appetite  and  increased  waste  of 
tissues.  So  a  farm-hand  needs  more  food 
than  a  college  student,  whose  workJs  mostly 
indoors  and  sedentary.  Much  has  been 
said  recently  about  the  ills  of  overeating. 
One  of  the  most  enthusiastic  defenders  of 
a  decreased  diet  is  Mr.  Horace  Fletcher, 
who,  by  the  practice  of  protracted  mastica- 
tion, "contrives  to  satisfy  the  appetite 


EFFECTIVE  STUDY  197 

while  taking  an  exceptionally  small  amount 
of  food.  Salivary  digestion  is  favored  and 
the  mechanical  subdivision  of  the  food  is 
carried  to  an  extreme  point.  Remarkably 
complete  digestion  and  absorption  follow. 
By  faithfully  pursuing  this  system  Mr. 
Fletcher  has  vastly  bettered  his  general 
health,  and  is  a  rare  example  of  muscular 
and  mental  power  for  a  man  above  sixty 
years  of  age.  He  is  a  vigorous  pedestrian 
and  mountain-climber  and  holds  surpris- 
ing records  for  endurance  tests  in  the 
gymnasium.  , 

"The  chief  gain  observed  in  his  case,  as 
hi  others  which  are  more  or  less  parallel, 
is  the  acquiring  of  immunity  to  fatigue, 
both  muscular  and  central.  It  is  not 
claimed  that  the  sparing  diet  confers  great 
strength  for  momentary  efforts — 'explo- 
sive strength/  as  the  term  goes — but  that 
moderate  muscular  contractions  may  be 
repeated  many  times  with  far  less  discom- 
fort than  before.  The  inference  appears 
to  be  that  the  subject  who  eats  more  than 


198          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

is  best  has  in  his  circulation  and  his  tissues 
by-products  which  act  like  the  muscular 
waste  which  is  normally  responsible  for 
fatigue.  According  to  this  conception  he 
is  never  really  fresh  for  his  task,  but  is 
obliged  to  start  with  a  handicap.  When 
he  reduces  his  diet  the  cells  and  fluids  of 
his  body  free  themselves  of  these  by-prod- 
ucts and  he  realizes  a  capacity  quite 
unguessed  in  the  past. 

"The  same  assumption  explains  the 
fact  mentioned  by  Mr.  Fletcher,  that  the 
hours  of  sleep  can  be  reduced  decidedly 
when  the  diet  is  cut  down.  It  would  seem 
as  though  a  part  of  our  sleep  might  often 
be  due  to  avoidable  auto-intoxication.  If 
one  can  shorten  his  nightly  sleep  without 
feeling  the  worse  for  it  this  is  an  important 
gain." 

But  the  amount  of  food  is  probably  not 
so  important  as  the  kind.  Foods  contain- 
ing much  starch,  as  potatoes  and  rice,  may 
ordinarily  be  taken  in  greater  quantities 
than  foods  containing  much  protein,  such 


EFFECTIVE  STUDY  199 

as  meats  and  nuts.    So  our  problem  is  not 
so  much  concerned  with  quantity  as  with 
the  choice  of  kinds  of  food.    Probably  th( 
most  favorable  distribution  of  foods  for 
students  is  a  predominance  of  fruits,  coarse 
cereals,  starch  and  sugar  and  Jess^  promi- 
nence to  meats.    Do  not  begin  the  day's 

0  * 

study  on  a  breakfast  of  cakes.  They  are  a 
heavy  tax  upon  the  digestive  powers  and 
their  nutritive  value  is  low.  The  mid-day 
meal  is  also  a  crucial  factor  in  determining 
the  efficiency  of  afternoon  study,  and 
many  students  almost  completely  incapac- 
itate themselves  for  afternoon  work  by  a 
too-heavy  noon  meal.  Frequently  an 
afternoon  course  is  rendered  quite  value- 
less because  the  student  drowses  through 
the  lecture  soddened  by  a  heavy  lunch. 
One  way  of  overcoming  this  difficulty  is 
by  dispensing  with  the  mid-day  meal; 
another  way  is  to  drink  a  small  amount  of 
coffee,  which  frequently  keeps  people 
awake;  but  these  devices  are  not  to  be 
universally  recommended. 


200          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

The  heavy  meal  of  a  student  may  well 
come  at  evening.  It  should  consist  of  a 
varied  assortment  of  foods  with  some 
liquids,  preferably  clear  soup,  milk  and 
water.  Meat  also  forms  a  substantial 
part  of  this  meal,  though  ordinarily  it 
should  not  be  taken  more  than  once  a  day. 
Much  is  heard  nowadays  about  the  dangers 
of  excessive  meat-eating  and  the  objections 
are  well-founded  in  the  case  of  brain- 
workers.  The  undesirable  effects  are  "an 
unprofitable  spurring  of  the  metabolism — 
more  particularly  objectionable  in  warm 
weather — and  the  menace  of  auto-intoxj- 

^MMMHHH^^^^^^BVMlVfc 

cation."  Too  much  protein,  found  in 
meat,  lays  a  burden  upon  the  liver  and 
kidneys  and  when  the  burden  is  too  great, 
wastes,  which  cannot  be  taken  care  of, 
gather  and  poison  the  blood,  giving  rise  to 
that  feeling  of  being  "tired  all  over"  which 
is  so  inimical  to  mental  and  physical  exer- 
tion. When  meat  is  eaten,  care  should  be 
taken  to  choose  right  kinds.  "Some  kinds 
of  meat  are  well  known  to  occasion  indi- 


EFFECTIVE  STUDY  201 

gestion.  Pork  and  veal  are  particularly 
feared.  While  we  may  not  know  the 
reason  why  these  foods  so  often  disagree 
with  people,  it  seems  probable  that  texture 
is  an  important  consideration.  In  both 
these  meats  the  fibre  is  fine,  and  fat  is 
intimately  mingled  with  the  lean.  A  close 
blending  of  fat  with  nitrogenous  matter 
appears  to  give  a  fabric  which  is  hard  to 
digest.  The  same  principle  is  illustrated 
by  fat-soaked  fried  foods.  Under  the 
cover  of  the  fat,  thorough-going  bacterial 
decomposition  of  the  proteins  may  be 
accomplished  with  the  final  release  of 
highly  poisonous  products.  Attacks  of 
acute  indigestion  resulting  from  this  cause 
are  much  like  the  so-called  ptomaine 
poisoning." 

Much  of  the  benefit  of  meat  may  be 
secured  from  other  foods.  Fat,  for  exam- 
ple, may  be  obtained  from  milk  and  butter 
freed  from  the  objectionable  qualities  of 
the  meat-fibre.  In  this  connection  it  is 
important  to  call  attention  to  the  use  of 


202          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

fried  fat.  Avoid  fat  that  is  mixed  with 
starch  particles  in  such  foods  as  fried 
potatoes  and  pie-crust. 

The  conditions  during  meals  should 
always  be  as  pleasant  as  possible.  This 
refers  both  to  physical  surroundings  and 
mental  condition.  "The  processes  occur- 
ring in  the  alimentary  canal  are  greatly 
subject  to  influences  radiating  from  the 
brain.  It  is  especially  striking  that  both 
the  movements  of  the  stomach  and  the 
secretion  of  the  gastric  juice  may  be 
inhibited  as  a  result  of  disturbing  circum- 
stances. Intestinal  movements  may  be 
modified  in  similar  fashion. " 

"Cannon  has  collected  various  instances 
of  the  suspension  of  digestion  in  conse- 
quence of  disagreeable  experiences,  and 
it  would  be  easy  for  almost  anyone  to  add 
to  his  list.  He  tells  us,  for  example,  of 
the  case  of  a  woman  whose  stomach  was 
emptied  under  the  direction  of  a  specialist 
in  order  to  ascertain  the  degree  of  digestion 
undergone  by  a  prescribed  breakfast.  The 


EFFECTIVE  STUDY  203 

dinner  of  the  night  before  was  recovered 
and  was  found  almost  unaltered.  Inquiry 
led  to  the  fact  that  the  woman  had  passed 
a  night  of  intense  agitation  as  the  result 
of  misconduct  on  the  part  of  her  husband. 
People  who  are  seasick  some  hours  after  a 
meal  vomit  undigested  food.  Apprehen- 
sion of  being  sick  has  probably  inhibited 
the  gastric  activities. 

"Just  as  a  single  occasion  of  painful 
emotion  may  lead  to  a  passing  digestive 
disturbance,  so  continued  mental  depres- 
sion, worry,  or  grief  may  permanently 
impair  the  working  of  the  (alimentary) 
tract  and  undermine  the  vigor  and  capacity 
of  the  sufferer.  Homesickness  is  not  to 
be  regarded  lightly  as  a  cause  of  mal- 
nutrition. Companionship  is  a  powerful 
promoter  of"  assimilation.  The  attractive 
serving  of  food,  a  pleasant  room,  and  good 
ventilation  are  of  high  importance.  Thef 
lack  of  these,  so  commonly  faced  by  the 
lonely  student  or  the  young  man  making  a 
start  in  a  strange  city,  may  be  to  some 


204          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

extent  counteracted  by  the  cultivation  of 
optimism  and  the  mental  discipline  which 
makes  it  possible  to  detach  one's  self  from 
sordid  surroundings. " 

Almost  as  important  as  eating  is  drink- 
ing, for  liquids  constitute  the  "largest 
item  in  the  income"  of  the  body.  Free 
drinking  is  recommended  by  physiologists, 
the  beneficial  results  being,  "the  avoid- 
ance of  constipation,  and  the  promotion 
of  the  elimination  of  dissolved  waste  by 
the  kidneys  and  possibly  the  liver."  In 
regard  to  the  use  of  water  with  meals,  a 
point  upon  which  emphatic  cautions  were 
formerly  offered,  recent  experiments  have 
failed  to  show  any  bad  effects  from  this, 
and  the  advice  is  now  given  to  drink  "all 
the  water  that  one  chooses  with  meals." 
Caution  should  be  observed,  however, 
about  introducing  hot  and  cold  liquids 
into  the  stomach  in  quick  succession. 

Other  liquids  have  been  much  discussed 
by  dietitians,  especially  tea  and  coffee. 
"These  beverages  owe  what  limited  food 


EFFECTIVE  STUDY  205 

value  they  have  to  the  cream  and  sugar 
usually  mixed  with  them.  They  give 
pleasure  by  their  aroma,  but  they  are  given 
a  peculiar  position  among  articles  of  diet 
by  the  presence  in  them  of  the  compound 
caffein,  which  is  distinctly  a  drug.  It  is 
a  stimulant  to  the  heart,  the  kidneys,  and 
the  central  nervous  system. " 

"Individual  susceptibility  to  the  action 
of  caffein  varies  greatly.  Where  one  per- 
son notices  little  or  no  reaction  after  a  cup 
of  coffee,  another  is  exhilarated  to  a 
marked  degree  and  hours  later  may  find 
himself  lying  sleepless  with  tense  or  trem- 
bling muscles,  a  dry,  burning  skin,  and  a 
mind  feverishly  active.  Often  it  is  found 
that  a  more  protracted  disturbance  follows 
the  taking  of  coffee  with  cream  than  is 
caused  by  black  coffee. 

"It  is  too  much  to  claim  that  the  use  of 
tea  and  coffee  is  altogether  to  be  con- 
demned. Many  people,  nevertheless,  are 
better  without  them.  For  all  who  find 
themselves  strongly  stimulated  it  is  the 


206          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

part  of  wisdom  to  limit  the  enjoyment  of 
these  decoctions  to  real  emergencies  when 
uncommon  demands  are  made  upon  the 
endurance  and  when  for  a  time  hygienic 
considerations  have  to  be  ignored.  If 
young  people  will  postpone  the  formation 
of  the  habit  they  will  have  one  more  re- 
source when  the  pressure  of  mature  life 
becomes  severe." 

Before  concluding  this  discussion  a  word 
might  be  added  concerning  the  relation  be- 
tween fasting  and  mental  activity.  Pro- 
longed abstinence  from  food  frequentlvj*e- 
sults  in  highly  sharpened  intellectual  pow- 
ers. Numerous  examples  of  this  are  found 
fri  the  literature  of  history  and  biography; 
many  actors,  speakers  and  singers  habitu- 
ally fast  before  public  performances.  There 
are  some  disadvantages  to  fasting,  espe- 
cially loss  of  weight  and  weakness,  but  when 
done  under  the  direction  of  a  physician, 
fasting  has  been  known  to  produce  very 
beneficial  effects.  It  is  mentioned  here  be- 
cause it  has  such  marked  effects  in  speed- 


EFFECTIVE  STUDY  207 

ing  up  the  mental  processes  and  clearing^ 
the  mind;  and  the  well-nourished  student! 
may  find  the  practice  a  source  of  mental 
strength  during  times  of  stress  such  as 
examinations.  / 

SLEEP. — "  About  one-third  of  an  average 
human  life  is  passed  in  the  familiar  and  yet 
mysterious  state  which  we  call  sleep.  From 
one  point  of  view  this  seems  a  large  inroad 
upon  the  period  in  which  our  consciousness 
has  its  exercise;  a  subtraction  of  twenty- 
five  years  from  the  life  of  one  who  lives  to 
be  seventy-five.  Yet  we  know  that  the 
efficiency  and  comfort  of  the  individual 
demand  the  surrender  of  all  this  precious 
time.  It  has  often  been  said  that  sleep  is  a 
more  imperative  necessity  than  food,  and 
the  claim  seems  to  be  well  founded. "  It  is 
quite  likely  that  some  students  indulge  in 
too  much  sleep.  This  may  sometimes  be 
due  to  laziness,  but  frequently  it  is  due 
to  actual  intoxication,  from  ant  excess 
of  food  which  results  in  the  presence  of 
poisonous  "narcotizing  substances  ab- 


208          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

'  sorbed  from  the  burdened  intestine".  This 
theory  is  rendered  tenable  by  the  fact  that 
when  the  diet  is  reduced  the  hours  of  sleep 

I    ^V^^^M^fMi^HMMMMMM^1^"^1^  ^^^MH>^l|IIMai'aM^EMMfc**li^B*<'MMIVB**^M'^ 

may  be  reduced.  If  one  is  in  good  health, 
it  seems  right  to  expect  that  one  should  be 
able  to  arise  gladly  and  briskly  upon  awak- 
ing. By  all  means  do  not  indulge  yourself 
;  in  long  periods  of  lying  in  bed  after  a  good 
night's  rest. 

If  we  examine  the  physical  and  physio- 
logical conditions  of  sleep  we  shall  better 
understand  its  hygiene.  Sleep  is  a  state  in 
which  the  tissues  of  the  body  which  have 
been  used  up  may  be  restored.  Of  course 
some  restoration  of  broken-down  tissue 
takes  place  as  soon  as  it  begins  to  wear  out, 
but  so  long  as  the  body  keeps  working,  the 
one  process  can  never  quite  compensate 
for  the  other,  so  there  must  be  a  periodic 
cessation  of  activity  so  that  the  energies  of 
the  body  may  be  devoted  to  restoration. 
Viewing  sleep  as  a  time  when  Broken-down 
bodily  cells  are  restored,  we  see  that  we  tax 
the  energies  of  the  body  less  if  we  go  to 


EFFECTIVE  STUDY  209 

sleep  each  day  before  the  cells  are  entirely 
depleted.  That  is  the  significance  of  the 
old  teaching  that  sleep  before  midnight  is 
more  efficacious  than  sleep  after  midnight. 
It  is  not  that  there  is  any  mystic  virtue  in 
the  hours  before  twelve,  but  that  in  the 
early  part  of  the  evening  the  cells  are  not 
so  nearly  exhausted  as  they  are  later  in  the 
evening,  and  it  is  much  easier  to  repair 
them  in  the  partially  exhausted  stage  than 
it  is  in  the  completely  exhausted  stage. 
For  this  reason,  arnkWajjiap  is  often  effec- 
tive, or  a  short  nap  after  the  evening  din- 
ner. By  thus  catching  the  cells  at  an  early 
stage  of  their  exhaustion,  they  can  be  re- 
stored with  comparative  ease,  and  more 
energy  will  be  available  for  use  during 
the  remainder  of  the  working  hours. 

A  problem  that  may  occasionally  trouble 
a  student  is  sleeplessness  and  we  may  prop- 
erly consider  here  some  of  the  ways  of 
avoiding  it.  One  prime  cause  of  sleepless- 
ness is  external  disturbance.  The  disturb- 
ance may  be  visual.  Although  it  is  ordi- 


210  HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

narily  thought  that  if  the  eyes  are  closed,  no 
visual  disturbances  can  be  sensed,  neverthe- 
less, as  a  matter  of  fact  the  eye-lids  are  not 
wholly  opaque.  Sight  may  be  obtained 
through  them,  as  you  may  prove  by  closing 
your  eyes  and  moving  your  fingers  before 
them.  The  lids  transmit  light  to  the  retina 
and  it  is  quite  likely  that  you  are  frequently 
awakened  by  a  beam  of  light  falling  upon 
your  closed  eye-lids.  For  this  reason,  one 
who  is  inclined  to  be  wakeful  should  shut 
out  from  the  bed-room  all  avenues  whereby 
light  may  enter  as  a  distraction. 

The  temperature  sense  is  also  a  source  of 
distraction  in  sleep,  and  it  is  a  common 
experience  to  be  awakened  by  extreme  cold. 
The  ears,  too,  may  be  the  source  of  disturb- 
ance in  sleep;  for  even  though  we  are  asleep, 
the  tympanic  membrane  is  always  exposed 
to  vibrations  of  air.  In  fact,  stimuli  are 
continually  playing  upon  the  sense-organs 
and  are  arousing  nervous  currents  which 
try  to  break  over  the  boundaries  of  sleep 
and  impress  themselves  upon  the  brain. 


EFFECTIVE  STUDY  211 

For  this  reason,  one  who  wishes  to  have 
untroubled  sleep  should  remove  all  possible 
distractions. 

But  apart  from  external  distractions, 
wakefulness  may  still  be  caused  by  distrac- 
tions from  within.  Troublesome  ideas  may 
be  present  and  persist  iri  keeping  one  awake. 
This  means  that  brain  activity  has  been 
started  and  needs  suppression.  Various 
devices  have  been  suggested.  One  is  to  eat 
something  very  light,  just  enough  to  draw 
the  surplus  blood,  which  excites  the  brain, 
away  from  the  brain  to  the  digestive  tract. 
This  advice  should  be  taken  with  caution, 
however,  for  eating  just  before  retiring  may 
use  up  in  digestion  much  of  the  energy 
needed  in  repairing  the  body,  and  may 
leave  one  greatly  fatigued  in  the  morning. 

One  way  to  relieve  the  mind  of  mental 
distractions  is  to  fill  it  with  non-worrisome, 
restful  thoughts.  Read  something  light,  a 
restful  essay  or  a  non-exciting  story,  or 
poetry.  Another  device  is  to  bathe  the 
head  in  cold  water  so  as  to  relieve  conges- 


212          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

tion  of  blood  in  the  brain.    A  tepid  or  warm 
bath  is  said  to  have  a  similar  effect. 

Dreams  constitute  one  source  of  annoy- 
ance to  many,  and  while  they  are  not  neces- 
sarily to  be  avoided,  still  they  may  disturb 
the  night's  rest.  We  may  avoid  them  in 
some  measure  by  creating  conditions  free 
from  sensory  distractions,  for  many  of  our 
dreams  are  direct  reflections  of  sensations 
we  are  experiencing  at  the  moment.  A 
dream  with  an  arctic  setting  may  be  the 
result  of  becoming  uncovered  on  a  cold 
night.  To  use  an  illustration  from  Ellis: 
"A  man  dreams  that  he  enlists  in  the  army, 
goes  to  the  front,  and  is  shot.  He  is  awak- 
ened by  the  slamming  of  a  door.  It  seems 
probable  that  the  enlistment  and  the  march 
to  the  field  are  theories  to  account  for  the 
report  which  really  caused  the  whole  train 
of  thought,  though  it  seemed  to  be  its  latest 
item."  Such  dreams  may  be  partially 
eliminated  by  care  in  arranging  conditions 
so  that  there  will  be  few  distractions. 
Especially  should  they  be  guarded  against 


EFFECTIVE  STUDY  213 

in  the  later  hours  of  the  sleep,  for  we  do  not 
sleep  so  soundly  after  the  first  two  hours  as 
we  do  before,  and  stimuli  can  more  easily 
impress  themselves  and  affect  the  brain. 

Before  leaving  the  subject  of  sleep,  we 
should  note  the  benefit  to  be  derived  from 
regularity  in  sleep.  All  Nature  seems  to 
move  rhythmically  and  sleep  is  no  excep- 
tion. Insomnia  may  be  treated  by  means  of 
habituating  one's  self  to  get  sleepy  at  a  cer- 
tain t'ime,  and  there  is  no  question  that 
the  rising  process  may  be  made  easier  if 
one  forms  the  habit  of  arising  at  the  same 
time  every  morning.  To  rhythmize  this  j 
.  important  fimfttflpn  is  a  long  step  towards  1 
the  efficient  life.  \ 

EXERCISE. — Brain  workers* do  not  or- 
dinarily get  all  the  exercise  they  should. 
Particularly  is  this  true  of  some  conscien- 
tious students  who  feel  they  must  not  take 
any  time  from  their  study.  But  this  de- 
notes a  false  conception  of  mental  action. 
The  human  organism  needs  exercise.  Man 
is  not  a  disembodied  spirit;  he  must  pay 


214          HOW  TO  USE  YOUR  MIND 

attention  to  the  claims  of  the  body.  In- 
deed it  will  be  found  that  time  spent  in 
exercise  will  result  in  a  higher  grade  of 
mental  work.  This  is  recognized  by  col- 
leges and  universities  by  the  requirement 
of  gymnasium  work,  and  the  opportunity 
should  be  welcomed  by  the  student.  In- 
asmuch as  institutions  generally  give  in- 
struction in  this  subject,  we  need  not  go 
specifically  into  the  matter  of  exercises. 
Perhaps  the  only  caution  that  need  be  urged 
is  that  against  the  excessive  participation 
in  such  exhausting  games  as  foot-ball.  It 
is  seriously  to  be  questioned  whether  the 
strenuous  grilling  that  a  foot-ball  player 
must  undergo  does  not  actually  impair  his 
ability  to  concentrate  upon  his  studies. 

If  you  undertake  a  course  of  exercise, 
by  all  means  have  it  regular.  Little  is 
gained  by  sporadic  exercising.  Adopt  the 
principle  of  regularity  and  rhythmize  this 
important  phase  of  bodily  activity  as  well 
as  all  other  phases. 

In  concluding  our  discussion  of  physical 


EFFECTIVE  STUDY  215 

hygiene  for  the  student,  we  cannot  stress 
too  much  the  value  of  relaxation.  The 
life  of  a  student  is  a  trying  one.  It  exer- 
cises chiefly  the  higher  brain  centres  and 
keeps  the  organism  keyed  up  to  a  high 
pitch.  These  centres  become  fatigued 
easily  and  ought  to  be  rested  occasion- 
ally. 'Therefore,  the  student  should  relax 
at  intervals,  and  engage  in  something 
remote  from  study.  To  forget  books  for 
an  entire  week-end  is  often  wisdom;  to 
have  a  hobby  or  an  avocation  is  also  wise. 
/  A  stucTent  must  not  forget  that  he  is 
something  more  than  an  intellectual  being. 
He  is  a  physical  organism  and  a  social  being, 
and  the  well-rounded  life  demands  that  all 
phases  receive  expression.  We  grant  that 
it  is  wrong  to  exalt  the  physical  and  stunt 
the  mental,  but  it  is  also  wrong  to  develop 
the  intellectual  and  neglect  the  physical. 
We  must  recognize  with  Browning  that, 

(all  good  things 
Are  ours,  nor  soul  helps  flesh  more,  now, 
than  flesh  helps  soul. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Adams:  Making  the  Most  of  One's  Mind. 
Angell:  Psychology. 
Colvin:  The  Learning  Process. 
Dewey:  How  We  Think. 
Herrick:  Introduction  to  Neurology. 
James:  Psychology. 
James:  Energies  of  Men. 
Judd :  Psychology  of  High-school  Subjects. 
Pillsbury:  Essentials  of  Psychology. 
Seward:  Note-taking. 
Stiles :  Nutritional  Physiology. 
Stiles :  The  Nervous  System  and  its  Conserva- 
tion. 

Swift :  Mind  in  the  Making.    Chapter  VI. 
Thorndike:  Elements  of  Psychology. 
Titchener :  A  Text-book  of  Psychology. 
Watt :  Economy  and  Training  of  Memory. 


UCLA-ED/PSYCH  Library 

LB  1049  K64 


